They say: revenge is a dish best served cold, what they don't tell you is that it is even better when it is served by three badass women who have a bone to pick.

Everybody knows I love my drama boys but sometimes you just need good ol' girl power to get you going.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and Avengers social club brings you three furious women who've been scorned enough.
Jung Hye, an heiress who has had to put up with ten years of empty marriage, being constantly overlooked as a decoration piece that has no say whatsoever in important matters; Hong Do Hee, a fish-selling single mother who has had to deal with her children being bullied and facing constant contempt because of her poverty and Lee Mi Sook a perfect wife who has had to suffer domestic violence and humiliation on the hands of her husband.

But when you get tired of all the agony, what do you do? You take revenge.
And this brings us a show about how three women band together to stand up for themselves against society conventions, domineering men, stuck-up bitches and anyone who thinks that a middle-aged ahjumma is easy to run down.

However, two is better than three and three is better than four. And the fourth member in this perfectly mismatched group is Jung Hye's smart and compassionate step-son. Just a highschooler who has been constantly abused and used by his parents, he's taking it no more.

And so these four beautiful individuals form the infamous Bokja Club, ready to turn the tables on every bastard that did them wrong.

Avengers Social Club is an excellent drama. Together with genuinely heart-touching moments and high class comedy, it comes out as a quality show that has you totally invested.

The best thing about the drama is the character development. All these people grow together as friends, forming a permanent bond and excellent chemistry, while simultaneously growing strong as individuals. By the end of the show there's not a single person in the drama that doesn't change or grow.
The three women come into their own, embrace the power wihin and their journey is simply heart-warming to watch.

The cheeky instrumental soundtrack makes the hilarious antics of the Bokja Club all the more enjoyable. The drama is beautifully written, shining a light on society's serious issues all the while mainting a constant sense of humor.

All the revenge schemes are realistic and you find yourself whole-heartedly cheering the members on. Even the antagonists, not the brightest bulbs in the kitchen, bring a lot of mirth to the table.
This is a show that gives you pure joy and fills your heart with warmth.

Empowering women, the power of friendship and the message that it is never too late to take a stand; the drama comes with its fair share of unadulterated goodness.

With Avenger Social Club, revenge has never before tasted so sweet.

A must-watch.

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God, what a wonderfully powerful story.

Despite a few flaws here and there, Save Me is undoubtedly that one Korean Drama that comes to the closest degree of perfection.

The beauty of the show is in its fearlessness. It yanks out all the controversial social issues that people keep hidden behind opaque curtains and exposes them for what they are.
Religeous extremism, bullying, corruption and abuse of power are laid bare infront of you in their ugliest form.
There's a perverse darkness to the show. This constant undercurrent of foreboding and this feeling that you're watching something that you shouldn't watch. Despite the fact that it has no explicit scenes, the drama still manages to come off as an undeniable Taboo.

Save Me excels at every factor that makes a good show. Excellent direction, a tight narrative and a well-thought out, intelligent script make it impossible for the viewer to not get invested.
Every character and role, no matter how minor, is extremely fleshed out; consequentially making all the more impact.

It is only right that a brilliant script would be backed up by brilliant acting and sure enough, our actors don't disappoint.
At first I thought that I wasn't getting enough from Seo Yeo Ji but as the episodes progress you're entranced by her. Sang Mi is a strong woman caught in a vulnerable position. From determination and rebellion to helplessness, frustration and finally utter desperation; it's an awful never-ending cycle for her.
The deadly world of religeous fanaticism is wonderfully portrayed and Sang Mi's battle with sanity amongst masses of deranged manics shakes you to the core. Her love for her mother, her strong will to save herself, her despair and her agony are all emotions that you feel alongside with her.

However, the star of the show is undoubtedly Woo Do Hwan. I felt so deeply for Dong Cheol that I often found myself tearing up at the unfairness of his situation. He's a warrior with a heart of platinum and a soul that shines. He's sexy, sweet and broken. And I was in love with every version of him. I cherished every moment he was on-screen and missed him every moment he wasn't. It's truly remarkable how excellently Woo Do Hwan acted despite having very little experience under his belt, and that too, in a way that he stole the show from much experienced actors.

Okay, so you know those flaws I mentioned in the beginning? Well, Han Sang Hwan is the biggest one. Considering I'm an egalitarian, I hate noble idiots and goody two saints equally regardless of their gender; and Sang Hwan, to put it frankly, is a little bitch.

Despite the fact that he is the show's hero and this 'leader' that the drama writers want to force you to like- he isn't much at all. He's the classic privileged rich kid with daddy issues that you can find in every other wealthy neighborhood. His character is like an after-thought to the story and Taecyon for me, was very unmemorable.

I hated the fact that the drama, time and time again took away the spotlight from the life of the show (Dong Cheol) and gave it to him. At one point I was bad-wishing him almost as much as I was cursing the evil guys but hilariously enough, he failed in almost of all his hero missions (rescue plans and outsmarting people) all by himself. Until the last few episodes, his character retains the heroic but dumb vibe and I just couldn't take him seriously. Especially when all the real work was done by Dong Cheol.

However, the saving grace about Save Me is that even though it makes it clear who the main leads are, it doesn't discriminate in screen-time. Every single character is given their moment to shine and that is the sole reason why Taecyon did not make me snatch one star back from the rating.

The villains are cleverly written. They are all complex characters driven by different motivations and are as compelling as they are hateful. There are some very lovable side characters- Mr GateKeeper being my personal favorite- and some good ol' bromance to keep things balanced.

Save Me is a show that makes you feel. I found silent tears trekking my cheeks in miserable moments and then there were times I wanted to scream and yank my hair out from frustration. The drama kept me hooked to the screen from start to finish and brought out a whole lotta physical reactions from me.

The OST, mostly instrumental, is pure genius. Played at all the right moments; it incites dread, anticipation and panic in the on-lookers.

There are no plot inconsistencies and the show ends beautifully, providing deep satisfaction and closure, while simultaneously teasing that maybe all that evil isn't gone for good? Who knows.

Personally, this show was right up my alley. It kept me guessing throughout and from the moment I pressed the play button to the time the ending credits rolled; my heart felt like it was in a chokehold of fear for the characters.

While this show may not be for everyone, if you want to test your boundaries and tread into dark waters; Save me is, without a doubt, a must watch.

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Imagine this situation:

A person is driving a jeep on a rocky mountain. It's a bad idea from the start but he's hoping for the best. Suddenly, he takes a wrong turn and finds himself on the edge of a steep cliff, about to fall in an abyss. He's still hoping for the best.

Out of nowhere, a heavy gust of wind comes and makes his jeep topple over. As it falls the person gets all of his limbs broken and his tongue caught between the teeth. He's still hoping for the best.

Suddenly, there's a landslide and huge rocks fall on top of the jeep. Now the person has his abdomen torn apart and his intestines pouring out. But he's alive and still hoping for the best.

The pressure from the rocks causes the jeep to stumble forward and miraculously an ocean appears in the front. The jeep falls in the water and now the man can't breathe. Finally, when the jeep sinks down among debris and lost souls and the man takes his last breath, he realizes that all that hoping was in vain.

Did that all make sense?
No? Well, neither does While You Were Sleeping.

You want to know how the plot unfolds?
Exactly like the events in the above mentioned story: Unrealistically and taking its merry time from bad to worse.

Wanna know how you'll feel after finishing the show?
Exactly the way the driver of that jeep must've felt. You keep hoping for the best but things stays at their worst.

And now I'll explain why.

The show's biggest problem is the flawed characterization. Our protagonists that are portrayed to be these brilliant and hardworking individuals are essentially idiots, only being able to succeed because 1) they can see the future in their dreams 2) somebody from the supporting cast helps them sort out all their problems.

It's like praising an SAT student for scoring high when he saw all of the correct test answers in his dream. Though he didn't even bring his own pencil to the test and had to borrow it from someone, atleast he was able to correctly remember the answers and jot them down.

That has to count for something, right?
In my opinion, that something is bullshit.

After a very long time, I actually started off with liking the role Lee Jong Suk was given. I always say that he's a great actor who's sometimes given bad roles and in the beginning of this drama, I felt like after a long time he was finally given a good role again. Prosecutor Jung made mistakes, messed up and didn't feel as flawless as some of LJS's other roles. But soon, as the episodes progressed, that bubble burst for me as I saw him again mould into his typical run-of-the-mill T.V persona. I'd still say that he acted good but unlike Ji Chang Wook in Suspicious Partner, his acting alone wasn't strong enough to solely carry an otherwise flop show on its back.

Suzy was unmemorable like always. Not annoying but not standing out either and the chemistry between the couple was non-existent.

Surprisingly, the life of the show was the supporting cast. Han Da Wook; sexy and adorable detective was so precious but didn't have enough screen-time that was needed in order to develop his character to its full potential. The side story lines (consisting of 1 or 2 episodes) were so much better than the main ones. The prosecutors were all a source of bliss and some of the best acting was done by people who were there only as guest roles.

It's a shame when you feel nothing for the main characters and instead, gravitate towards the one's that are used as mere plot-lines. Unlike the protagonists, I found the antagonist to be far better developed and dimensional. Even though he was rotten to the core, he actually used his head and had some brilliant planning. He was far more intelligent than our hero and he didn't even have the advantage of knowing the future.

The OST had some good songs but because of the drab plot, I couldn't get a solid feel for them.

The show has classic Park-Hye Ryun written all over it. While You Were Sleeping is an ignored love-child of Pinnochio and I Hear Your Voice but unfortunately, is less captivating than the both of them.

To be honest, all the convenient plot-devices, medical inaccuracies and ridiculous circumstances could've been ignored if the show wasn't boring as hell.
While the last 4 episodes were the best (since Lee Jong Suk's character finally showed some growth) the rest of the show remains horribly dead.

When you don't feel a connection to either of the main guys, finishing such a dull show becomes a feat. I have to say that WYWS was literally the hardest show I've had to complete and it was only because of my utter aversion to dropping shows, that I was able to finish it.

I personally don't reccomend this drama.

Nobody should have to be the person in the jeep but if you're a fan of the casted actors and the writer, you can give it a try.

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This is the kind of drama that asks you questions like:'What are you made of? What is in your core? What are your principles? What is it that you can't live without? Wha- Nah, just kidding. That's just Yamaneko being his usual extra self.

Part puss in boots, part Sherlock and part Robin Hood- Kaitou Tantei comes with its own unique spurn of mystery, a cheeky slice of detective and hilarious laugh-out-loud slapstick comedy.
Let's take a moment of silence to appreciate the brilliance that is Kame Kazuya. Is there anything this man can't do? If being an excellent singer, dancer and beatboxer wasn't enough; twenty minutes into the first episode and he twerked his way into my favorite actors list. The way he's able to juggle different emotions is simply amazing and the fact that he's just so beautiful to look at only helps his case.

Kame's Yamaneko is undeniably one of Dramaland's most beloved characters. Rocking his retro sunglasses, an edgy cat mask and the infamous smirk, he fights crime with crime; one theft at a time.He's the only one who can be tone-deaf, wet his pants, guzzle noodles like they're water, be extremely over-the-top and cringey to the max but at the end, still retain the charisma and cool that defines him. He just has so much swag and style that all I can say is that he's the definition of a badass diva.

Yamaneko is that one rude asshole who comes bullshit free himself and doesn't tolerate anybody else's bs either. He does what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. He's the kind of person that would literally yank you by the hair, shove you infront of a mirror and scream your every insecurity, flaw and your deepest secret into your ear. He'll challenge you to face your worst self and at the end, push you head-on into whatever it was that you were running away from.
However, under all his arrogance and goofy persona hides a deeply compassionate, patriotic and thoughtful individual. Ten steps ahead of everyone and always thorough with his strategies; Yamaneko is an idiotic genius. He won my heart over and over again in every episode and made me feel genuine warmth and happiness

The rest of the cast-especially the versatile Narimiya Hiroki- holds their own against him. Katsamura, Mao, Rikako, Sekimoto- literally all of the characters were people that I felt deeply for. Kaitou Tantei is an acquired taste. It comes with its fair share of contradictions. It's in your face, yet sincere. It has an almost ridiculous plot, yet intelligent writing. It's characters are over-dramatic but not pretentious. It's peculiar, yet simple. A beautiful story of friendship, yet an account of jarring betrayal. Seemingly lame jokes and puns, yet excellent and thought-provoking dialogues. Hilariously non-serious, yet almost tragic beneath the layers. But ultimately, in its core, it's a show that doesn't aim to please anyone.

Middle fingers up, put them hands high. Wave it in their face, tell 'em boy bye.

^That's the motto it lives by. Devoid of the usual tropes and the same ol' bullshit, the Dorama comes with a sort of refreshing freedom that is now rarely seen. It's incredible just how much of the story they covered in as little as ten episodes (only 45 minutes worth).
They started in an almost coy manner and ended with a sly hint of tongue in cheek. While some complain and whine that the ending was rushed and not properly executed, it was perfect for me. It was exactly in line with the feel of the show; leaving you with a feeling of hope and uncertainty of the future and I absolutely loved it.

The dorky cat sound effects and the pink panther style background instrumental served to further increase the show's allure. The OST: Unlock by Gat-Tun (Kame's idol group) is so appropriate for the show and never failed to turn me up. Kame sounds so good in real life that I think that all the purposefully awful singing he did in the show must've done a number on his throat.

I believe I couldn't have picked a better show to begin my J-Dorama journey. I highly recommend this and to those who are having cold feet about watching it; I would like to quote my baby Yamaneko's words: "Don't think, just feeeeeel. And it will be Fanthastic." Cue the tongue swipe~Meow.

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My love for Ji Chang Wook is no secret. Whenever he comes on-screen I have an almost physical reaction to him.

Really, you should watch me watch him.

I have a huge school-girl crush-y grin on my face, my heart starts palpitating and all the Aaahs and Ooohs on the spectrum emit from my mouth.

However, my personal bias aside, there is no denying that he is an excellent actor. No matter what role he's given, he puts in his 11O% and owns it. Unsurprisingly, he does the same in Suspicious Partner. I spent all my time swooning at his adorable actions, fawning at his beautiful face and admiring the way he is able to smoothly deliver so many expressions all at once.

My obsession with him is exactly the reason why I hate giving any drama JCW stars in, a rating less than 8. It makes me feel all sorts of 'disloyal', but unfortunately sometimes you just gotta tell it how it is.

And the 'it' here is the fact that aside from Ji Chang Wook, this show has little to nothing going on for it.

Suspicious Partner starts as a strong, romantic suspense drama but somewhere in between it loses its identity. So much so, that when we're done with it, it fails to properly execute either of the genres.

I want to give credit to the female lead, for she does try and do her best to be quirky but unfortunately, I don't feel much for her. She feels like a support role, at best. There's also the fact that I had to put a lot of effort in getting over her role as the annoying kid Queen Seon Duk, which was a feat in it self 'cause ten years later, her mannerisms are exactly the same as before.

While there is a good dynamic between Ji Wook's Law Team and some hilarious moments between them, nothing really stands out. The sisterhood and bromance has so much potential to be a golden point of the show but unfortunately, it is left untapped.

There is some majorly good acting put out by the antagonist but the show does not develop his character as much as it deserves to be.

The whole crime mystery is dead and very predictable. The second lead romance falls flat and more often than not, the drama stumbles into the realm of utter boredom.

There are some good OST songs here and there but again, there's nothing I would lose sleep over. A lot of questions are given unsatisfactory answers, plot-holes are abundant and so are convenient plot-devices.

The story-line is mediocre, if we're being kind. They use so many ideas from Ji Chang Wook's other shows. Some scenes are copy pasted from The K2, a whole plot-line regarding the heroine's father is taken from Healer and it is all just more of the same ol' same ol' bs.

If it wasn't for JCW, I'm sure I'd rate it even less. And even though I am an eternal fangirl; I love him to the moon and back and I think he is as perfect as always in this show, I will still say that I didn't see him go the extra mile here. This role couldn't have been a challenge for him and because I know that he's an incredibly versatile actor; I'm so ready for him to bring us something phenomenal and better than this.

So over-all I guess it's a good time-pass.
Not too bad, not too good but extremely forgettable.

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Ah, Jeez. What a bad show.

W, is basically a badly written drama about a badly written Manhwa coming to life.

The moment I started watching W, suddenly a lot of my chores started getting done. I had finished my laundry, a novel worthy dissertation that was overdued suddenly got completed, my cupboards were clean and my room was sparkling. Soon I realized, that my mind's will to avoid the torture that this show subjected it to, was such; that it had me do all the things that I was procrastinating on since forever.

However, the masochist that I am, I kept coming back to it. All these great reviews and high ratings made me think that the next episode would be surely better than the shit I just watched. I kept finding excuses for it and soon, the ending credits rolled in and the show finished being just as horrible as it was from the get go.

To put it simply, W is like a rotten egg that somehow hatched into a headless chicken and proceeded to create chaos everywhere. It's like somebody took a coupla mindless plot-lines, threw it in a blender and went on to whisking it to hell and back.

The plot makes no sense. The characters make no sense. The story makes no sense. The drama is essentially a hotchpotch of confused writing trying to mask itself as 'complicated'. So much is happening but you're reaching nowhere. And the worst thing of it all, is that despite all their efforts to try and have unnecessary events take place left and right; the show still remains boring as hell. Which is a shame because its premise was so unique and had a lot of potential.

There are so many flashbacks and repetition, that half of the show is filled with the same old bs. Seriously, when you see Kang Chul get shot and Yeong Joo faint for the umpteenth of time, you're about ready to shoot and pass out yourself.

However, for me as long as the acting is good I can forgive almost everything.
No such luck here.

Han Hyo Joo sucks so bad that she shouldn't even be allowed to act anymore. All she knows is to open her eyes wide like an idiot, cover her face with her hands and bite her nails. Literally, this is all she does throughout the show. Her acting (or lack thereof) is so monotonous that you can put a cardboard in her place and it would still work.

I don't understand why Lee Jong Suk takes roles like these. I believe that this was probably his worst role as of yet, for there is no growth as an actor here. There is no denying his acting chops or his looks but playing a two-dimensional commonplace character like Kang Chul really dumbed down his potential.

The dialogues often felt scripted and the actors seemed detached from the characters they were playing.

The only memorable roles were the side characters. Yeong Joo's dad was brilliant, so was Park Bong So and the Mad Dog. All of them gave me some feels but the main characters were lacklustre at best.

The kisses were good but the romance like the rest of the show was less than mediocre.

I mean, the beginning was also bad but they really just lost their shit midway. It's like they didn't even care about following a logical story-line anymore.

However, I want to really give credit to the actual Webtoon artists who drew all the manhwa chapters in the show. That's some serious talent there, not gonna lie, but that's about it.

16 hours of total waste, watch it only if you want to have your intelligence insulted.

Enjoy!

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Oh God, this show was such a mess.

To start off with a nicer note, I'll talk about the drama's one and only saving grace: Lee Jun Ki. I am going to be honest, this was my first time watching him, and I was simply impressed. Not only is he a beautiful, beautiful man; he can also act like nobody's business. I also believe that even though he wasn't given much to work with, he tried his level best. And it showed, for the 4th Prince was the only character who I felt somewhat connected to. For me, this was a total case of liking the actor better than the character.

Next, I'd like to come at the people who gave so much flak to IU for her acting. Like, why y'all tripping? I mean her role wasn't even that hard, neither was it anything special. It was the same old 'bumbling, fumbling, self-righteous Mother Theresa level goodness' shebang that we've seen a billion times before. Every other actress in every other drama is doing it. It doesn't even require that much effort and for what it's worth I think IU handled it quite gracefully. People simply want to jump on the bandwagon of the 'singers can't act' stereotype and bash her, while ignoring the other much bigger problems with the show.

Speaking of problems, to be frank, this has to be one of the worst written shows I have ever watched. It's like the author had this vague idea of how to begin and how to end and so she bullshitted through the road in-between.
There is no character development whatsoever and convenient plot-lines are used time and time again to further the plot.

Want to give our hero the run-of-the-mill tragic pariah look?
No problem! Let's riddle him with some mommy issues and a scar to match.

Want to show our heroine change the hero's life by covering up that scar? Alrighty, let's make our heroine a cosmetician!

Want to show that everybody loves our heroine?
Let's make a harem of princes, throw some half hearted moments between them and take a leap; suggesting that they are suddenly so close that they would die for her!

The story is lacking villains?
Ugh, why not just bring back one that we already killed and got rid of before? We will just deem it a miracle of sorts and call it a day. Haha.

Uh oh, did our cranial light bulbs just fuse and we don't know how to prolong the show to 20 fucking episodes?
Nevermind. We always have good old flashbacks to help us through.

God, what a clusterfuck.

Everything was rushed and carelessly executed. They killed people just for emotional appeal. The relationships between characters wasn't fully explored. I mean, do you really expect my peepers to gush a waterfall if you scarcely show me a character; just enough so that he'll be in mind but not enough so that I would actually come to care for him, then in one random episode you show nothing but him and quickly kill him in the next to tug at my heartstrings? Nah boo.

Scarlet Heart was the definition of an ostentatious production. There was loud music flaring up out of nowhere to make scenes more dramatic, over-acting done by a lot of actors and numerous in your face close-up scenes. All these antics did well to suck up authenticity from the show and what you were left with in the end was superficial characters that are only pretty to look at.

Even the 4th Prince had major inconsistencies throughout. Many times, he seemed like a dumbed down version of Bidam from Queen Seon Duk. Thank goodness for LJK and his roguish charm, that he somehow managed to carry the show on his shoulders but ofcourse, one poor soul can do only so much.

The OST while itself brilliant, was also highly inappropriate for the time setting of the show. Do you really want me to swallow that a court lady in 18th, 19th century Goreo would be nodding her head and singing 'My Baby baby boy' in her moving carriage? Sorry, but I'm choking.

The story flows in fits and starts and the poorly executed time jumps don't necessarily help the case. Some aspects of the storyline had so much potential but the writers failed to tap into it. You could say that some scenes were well executed individually but they fell short at fitting together as a bigger picture.
It was crazy how sometimes, so much attention would be given to a supporting role and the main one's would be ignored. Or how important scenes would be inexplicably rushed while things that would be completely random would take up so much screen-time. The jumbled motivations and the fickle thought processes of all the characters reflected the confused mind of the writer.

When a show tries to elaborately sell me the fact that characters can fall from cliffs, get poisoned and stabbed in the heart and still survive, you know what, with some grievances intact I might actually buy it. But when the same show also tries to tell me that someone who got their knee banged up a bit years ago might, out of nowhere, lose the ability to walk or that heart-ache can cause people to have chronic heart diseases, I'm sorry but I'd just have to call the bullshit out.

Even though it was labeled as a period drama, it seemed like a parody of the genre. There were no intelligent palace politics or court intrigue. No cultural focus or attention to detail. All the antagonists were hare-brained idiots and the biggest enemy the good guys had to face was their own stupidity. Needless to say, they lost to it.

I don't consider myself a particularly hard person to move. Often little things touch me deeply and bring tears to my eyes but in this show- all these character deaths and tragedies- all I felt was a vague sense of detachment.

I am not gonna lie, the love story sure was cute. No matter how over-rated they get 'good girl-bad boy' romances will always have allure. And since the romance was all the drama had going for it, I'll give acknowledgment where it's due. There were scenes that made me smile and swoon but they weren't nearly enough to overcome all the weaknesses of the show.

Normally, I would give a show like this a much poorer rating but it's solely because of my love for LJK that I brought it up a notch. Also, I have to say that despite all its flaws, it did make me watch to the end. So all in all, you should enjoy Moon Lovers like you would enjoy a toddler's company: by being indulgent and not taking it too seriously.

P.S: Go easy on the 'This ain't helpful' button. I know this drama is a crowd favorite but I gotta tell as I feel it is. :)))

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When I was younger, there were these cartoons that I used to watch known as ‘Dora The explorer’. In these cartoons Dora used to go around on her kiddy-sized expeditions (mainly in her backyard or the neighborhood park) and discover new things.

However, despite being known as an excellent kid explorer, Dora wasn’t the brightest bulb in the closet. Every episode went something quite like this; Dora would stand in front of, say, an apple tree and the treasure that she sought after would be an apple. So in order to find that apple, Dora would first cluelessly look to one side then the other, then she’d look all over all the while conveniently missing the tree located right behind her. After a good ten minutes of looking, when Dora still wouldn’t find the darned apple, the creators of the show would decide to give her a hint.

The hint went something like this: “Dora, if you look exactly behind yourself, you’ll find something. Now, we are not telling what it is, since this is only a hint but I think you should look behind you and see what you find.” For further help, a huge green arrow would point towards the apple on the tree. That was when Dora would finally have a light bulb moment and discover the goal of her expedition. Feeling mighty proud of her feat, she would then ask the viewers whether they too were able to find the apple or not.

Even as a child, I was about ready to combust at this point, for I had found the mighty apple the moment the tree came into the view. However, despite all its flaws it was still one of my favorite cartoons because it made me feel so clever. I was smarter than Dora. The world was a good place. What could possibly go wrong?

Except, when the same Dora-style execution is done in Contemporary Crime Shows, things do actually go wrong. This is exactly one of the reasons why people love “Stranger” so much. Stranger doesn’t come with the usual BS. It doesn’t assume that its viewers are mentally impaired baboons who can’t put two and two together. It actually respects the audience by considering them smart enough to follow the plot. There is no spoon feeding here, nor does a big ass green arrow point towards every idiotic discovery ever made. Instead, it’s a drama with an intelligent script that demands your full attention.

Every scene and every character has a reason for existing. With brilliant direction and almost no plot-holes the drama not only succeeds in captivating the audience, rather it also gives them space to really think about all that is happening.

For a lot of actors a “cold and emotionless” role is the gateway for slacking. They leave all their acting skills in the backseat and decide that posing like a cringey af model throughout the show is the way to go. Jo Seung Woo with his “Prosecutor Hwang Shi Mwok” explains that kids, it is indeed not the way to go.

For a character that is supposed to be expressionless and indifferent to everything and anything, Seung Woo sure did put out the acting of the century. While his face remains carefully blank at all times, there are slight nuances in his expression that highlight the emotional development Shi Mwok experiences throughout the episodes. A slight twitch of the brow to show frustration, relaxation of the facial muscles to show ease and the gorgeous, beautiful and rare smile to show happiness. Simply put, Shi Mwok is a delight to watch. Without showing, he still shows so much that by the first half of the drama, the viewers have already formed a deep connection with him.

A lot of people thought that the whole “brain surgery” plot-line was unnecessary, however, I think it was wholly essential in order for Shi Mwok to become who he was. He was a prosecutor who was able to observe every crime scene with a cold detachment that is unachievable for a normal person. And the show facilitated the fact by backing it up with a genuine reason instead of feeding the viewers some bogus and over-dramatic crap.For all those people who have seen God’s Gift, I know that Seung Woo shocked your pants off. The utter versatility of the actor cannot be described in words. He was a completely different person in this show, simply unrecognizable and for that, he has all of my respect.

I think one of the most endearing characters in the show was our female lead Han Yeo Jin. Bae Do Na held her own in terms of acting and the amount of chill that her character had was unlimited. She was such a genuinely cool person. Relentless, strong and quirky. Even though she won against bad people numerous of times, there was never any pomposity in her, for to her, even the wins felt like failures because they were against her own people. You can see how her heart hurt at the name of injustice and how fully determined she was to stand against it. No matter the consequences. She was the kind of fearless cop that is every ordinary citizen’s dream and every corrupt person in power’s nightmare.

So considering how exquisite these two were individually, it’s no surprise that they were unbeatable together. Lieutenant Han and Prosecutor Hwang: The ultimate dynamic duo that made the baddies shiver in their boots. The chemistry between them was excellent; easily topping many romances. They were the kind of comrades that can lean on each other in time of need, rely on the other in time of action and above all, understand each other all the time. As weird Shi Mwok was, Lieutenant Han just seemed to get him and he in turn respected and shared his secrets with her.
With best friends like these, who needs romance?

All of the other side characters came with their own quirks. They had their own story, their own motives behind actions that appeared to be ruthless and their own flaws and weaknesses. Nobody was completely good or completely bad; rather they were all wholly mortal.

Like other crime shows, the show did not make use of convenient plot-lines or shock value. There weren’t any WTF moments or nerve-wracking cliff hangers, rather there was a constant under-current of gravity that kept the viewers rooted to their spot.

This is the kind of drama that will warm your heart, fill you with sadness at the world’s corruption and leave you with the sweet hope that not all people are wicked, that there is still some good left and that little bit of goodness might just be able to overcome the evil.

I know that I should just end this review here but I need to be completely honest. As as you can clearly see, I have nothing but good things to say about this show. However, it doesn't mean that I am going to give it a perfect rating like many others because despite all of its beauty there were times where I wanted something more. I wanted to know why Mwok Shi was so relentless on eradicating all corruption. If he couldn't feel anything, where did all his righteousness sprout from? I wanted to know more about Lieutenant Han's background. Why was she always so alone?

Even though the whole drama came with a certain amount of simplicity and subtle intelligence, the last few episodes did at moments take on a fairy-tale touch. The conclusion was everything that you could've wanted, it was the perfect ending. However, considering the somber tone of the show, personally I expected something more gritty and raw.

So while this was one of the more amazing shows I have watched, I will not claim that "This was the best Korean drama ever made".

That being said, with some of the best dialogues and a spot-less execution, this drama is definitely not one to be missed. Which is why I wholeheartedly recommend it to every crime/thriller fan out there.Enjoy!

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There is just so much warmth and beauty in this show.

There are a lot of things that make a drama great: direction, screenplay, plot- among other things. But then there are dramas like Fated To love You, that don't need anything else except the one thing they have: phenomenal acting. Jang Na Ra and Jang Hyuk are simply brilliant at what they do. Which is why, what would've been an otherwise mediocre drama ultimately, became an excellent show.

Lee Gun is, to be frank, a weirdo. There's extra and then there is this guy. From his ridiculous pretend action moves, obnoxious laughter, tacky slow cap to his nonsensical rambles- he's truly one of a kind. But these eccentricities are what make him so completely endearing. His laugh, when he is happy, is so contagious that it would split your face in a huge smile. While the same laugh, when he's upset, would break your heart into smithereens. The pure and untainted love he has for Mi Young will warm your soul and his kind, kind heart would grant him a permanent spot in your heart.

Mi Young, on the other hand, is just precious. Jang Na Ra’s acting is so utterly genuine that it's impossible not to fall in love with her character. Mi Young is gentle, fragile and innocent and yet, there is a silent strength to her. The way her personality develops throughout the show is amazing. She grows from a girl who hides from the world to a woman who's confident in her skin and the change is totally believable.

Their relationship is goals and their chemistry is fire ( damn those kisses ????). There is a total balance of power between them and that is what makes the romance so great. He is a billionaire in his own right and she's a very successful artist. There are many scenes where our guy takes the back seat and let's our girl handle the reins. They are strong for each other and they're strong together and it's all just varying degrees of perfection.

Fated to love you has the best second male lead to date. I love Daniel Pitt. Literally every time he came on the screen I was like ‘It's okay if you didn't get the girl, darlin’ I'm still here and I'm ready to be yours.’ lol. Usually in romance dramas, I find the second male and female leads kind of annoying but surprisingly, in this show I wanted to know more about Daniel and Se Ra’s story and when it finally unfolded, it was completely heart warming.

Secretary Tak, Dragon, Mi Young’s mom and her crazy ass family, Grandma Wang, The triplets, The Lawyer- basically every character in the show is lovable.
Hamo Hamo.

Goodbye My Love sung my Aille is without a doubt one of the best OST’s ever. No matter how many times I listen to it, I can't get enough. The background music throughout the show is perfectly timed and exactly what a particular scene needed.

All in all its little bag of tricks, its quirkiness, its over the top-ness and ultimately its authenticity is what makes this show a true gem.

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Ah, let me catch my breath for a minute. I need a moment to get myself out of the spell this show has cast on me.

Rookie Agent Rogue is the definition of awesomeness overload. Not only is it as addictive and tempting as a large grilled cheese burger (with extra fries), it also contains the quality and substance of 100 percent organic leafy greens. In short, this is the kind of show that fulfills your appetite and your taste buds.

It's no secret that Zhao Zanilia is my favorite Chinese actress, however, I'm not at all blind to her faults. I know that she's definitely not the best actress in the world; her crying scenes are pretty bad, she can't pull off intense emotions to save her life and sometimes her acting is downright wooden. So the fact that she is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast in this show should be a huge problem for her.
But no, like always Zanilia makes use of the thing she does have an excess of; charisma and grace. And like always, with these two things she wins the masses.  

She consistently brings forth characters that are genuinely likable and so it isn't at all a surprise that I love my girl Yanzhi. A lot.

Simply put, Yanzhi's a badass babe; smart to the bone and exactly what you imagine when you think of high-class agents. She carries out brilliant strategies and shootouts, all the while calmly chewing her gum and rocking her dark shades. She's too cool to be true to be honest.

Our leading man has just as much swag. He has his roguish charm, precision in murder and the stoic detatchment which makes him deadly. At the same time, he's an upright and passionate soldier with an extremely conpassionate side. In the beginning of the show, it's very unclear who the main love interest is and I remember literally praying and crossing my fingers that Zhou Hehao was the main guy and later, when I got to know that he was the male lead all along I felt pure happiness. (It's the little things...)

And then ofcourse, last but not the least, comes our second female lead: Feng Manna. Tao Xin Ran often steals the show with her brilliant acting. Feng Mana is a very complicated character; vicious by circumstance, filled with hate and not a woman you can mess with. But deep down she's vulnerable, insecure and just a lost little girl. Even though I hate a lot of things she does, Xin Ran's masterful acting skills stopped me from truly despising the character.

While a lot of shows can be enjoyed solely because of the main leads, you know a show is truly good when you feel an actual connection with the supporting cast too. Every single character in the drama left an impression on me.
From one episode cameos, to the central roles, the eccentric villains and the faithful soldiers- every act was executed almost perfectly.

This is one of the few Asian thrillers that actually thrills. Apart from a few things here and there the show holds a significant amount of unpredictibility throughout. I couldn't for the life of me guess what was going to happen next. Is the mission going to be successful? Will my beloved hero come out alive? Will the leading lady get out of danger unscathed? I had no idea and I often found myself sitting on the edge of the seat with my heart running a marathon and my nails chipped to bits.

This drama is filled with murder, mayhem, violence, political strategies, masterful schemes and espionage. It's a story of war, love, sacrifice and loyalty. Even though there are a lot of character deaths, it's the small things that actually touch and wreck your heart.

The soundtrack of Rookie Agent Rogue is simply epic. The skillful harmony of music and screenplay is beautiful and sets the perfect mood.

Another thing that's absolutely epic is the love-story. Ahh. The romance is so good but so less. I desperately wish there was more but considering this isn't a romance drama, I have to content myself with what I got.

Both Lan Yanzhi and Zhou Hehou are ingenious individuals in their own right and so together they assert their badassery over everyone. And they do it in style.

A fast-paced drama with a consistently intelligent plot-line and an extremely satisfying ending, RAR is definitely not a show to be missed.

Enjoy!

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Oh boy, I'm fucking mad.

This review is the ultimate shattering of pretty illusions caused by all the decietful 10 star rated reviews of this drama, provided by yours truly.

See I have no problem if you loved the show, if this kind of thing is your thing and you enjoyed watching it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and boos should do their yous.
But, if you're tryna sell me the fact that 'this drama is a beautiful redemption story filled with well-developed characters and a thoughtout plot-line', I'm going to have to tell you to sit the fuck down.
Because, that's not it at all. Objectively speaking, Sawang Biang is quite a simplistic story targeted to appeal to mankind's perverse pleasure. It's really not that deep. I personally like complex, wounded characters who're almost unforgivable but at the very least, I want them to be well written in order to understand their reasons.

Kawee, to put it simply, is a pathetic little bitch.

A child of abuse and neglect (both of which aren't properly explored) who's fundamentally broken but has very little reason to be. A spoiled brat with daddy issues- basically every rich kid's life story nowadays. Even if I don't bring out the 'kids in Africa with worse lives' argument, it's still safe to say that Kawee had no right or reason to act out the way he did. He pretended to be tough but was weak to his core. Someone deprived of love, affection and angry at the world. All these things should've amounted to him being quite an interesting and complex character but instead, the show made him fall flat. Which is why, though I liked the potential he had, I hated what he ended up being.

A lot of people described the show with flowery words like 'a beautiful story of a man's broken road to redemption' except that road broke and came to a dead end far before it could ever reach its goal.

Kawee's actions are surely unforgivable and the only way he could've been saved was if he had the brutal wake up call of self actualization. If he truly realized how horrible he had been. If his sins woke him up at night and tormented him. If he developed a deep rooted guilt and then travelled a slow journey towards being a somewhat better person; someone not fully redeemed but not the devil he was before either. Here, however Kawee changes like the whether. He wakes up one day, realizes he's gonna be a father and is all like 'Oh shit, time to be a saint now' and the next day we see him be the best person alive.

Like for fuck sake, we're talking about an extremely damaged person with deep rooted insecurities here. How the hell can a few sentimental speeches expressing regret and a few months of asskissing possibly erase all the destruction he wreaked in an innocent woman's life?
Let's not forget the fact that he constantly boasts about all the 'good' things he does being all like ' Isn't this enough, Narin? I'm trying so hard for you, can't you see?' Really bitch? Fite me.

Now for all those who say that the chemistry between the leads was great...
Are you out of your Goddamn mind?

Maybe I'm blind but where you saw chemistry I saw massive cruelty. This wasn't a case of dubious consent where the girl is half-willing and half not. No. This was an act of pure and unadulterated malice. He rapes her, beats her, manipulates and blackmails her to do his bidding and treats her like a dog on a collar. There is nothing remotely romantic about it. It's infuriating is what it is.

Almost as worse as the Main lead, were the side characters. I have never encountered a more ridiculous drama mom in my entire life. She's so nice, so kind, so lovely that her piety takes over all her brain cells. Even though she is clearly aware of what a douche bag Kawee is, she forces her abused daughter to constantly apologize to him and be nice to him.
I mean, how clueless can you be? However, when she finally gets a clue and makes this 'I'll never let him hurt my daughter again' declaration; she acts on this statement by acting all chummy with her daughter's rapist the next day by teaching him how to cook.
Bravo Mama, Bravo.

The rest of the meddling no-lifers known as the supporting cast were no good either. They constantly guilt tripped the heroine, making her believe as if she's the one in the wrong for not easily forgiving the man who destroyed her life. They consistently forced her to be with him and it's an all out classic case of victim blaming.

Even her pregnancy docter tells her to obey the man. Like bro? Y'all are acting like he stole her pup and she's mad. No, that asshat stole her life, her happiness and her virginity. Unfuckingbelievable.

To be real with you, I'm not a faint hearted or easily offended person. I've watched and read far brutal stories than this. A lot of people take up controversial topics and then proceed to effectively ruining it. Been there, seen that. The real reason why I'm so passionately angry about the show is how much it trivializes rape. It makes it appear as something that is normal. Nobody in the show properly adresses the issue or deals with the repercussions. Rape used to be a word bomb; an absolute taboo but here it's shown like an everyday thing. If you're not going to properly adress the subject and the aftermaths of it, why the hell are you putting it in your show in the first place? What's worse is that while I was watching this show even I, for a minute overlooked the whole rape thing with how normalized it was but later, when I thought about it and the scenes revolved around my head, I was deeply shook.

There is no way a victim and an assaulter can be together the way they are in Sawang Biang. Kawee has no reason to love Narin and it's obvious that what he feels, is this sick infatuation and ownership towards her because of how much he physically and mentally controls her. Narin, on the other hand has no other option but to accept him. She's forced into a situation where she has a kid to protect, humiliation to face and family and friends that think she's the villain. This is an unfortunate compromise of a union disguising itself as a love story and I call bullshit.

The only reason I even gave it a three stars was because of Ken and Anna. I liked both their acting. The way Ken twisted his pretty features into pure ugliness made Kawee an all the more deplorable character. Narin played by Anna was strong though out. She resisted the situation as best as she could and was someone whose will wasn't truly broken till the very end.

I don't recommend this drama to anybody so if you are someone who likes to venture in the realm of the dark, go read Six by K.I Lynn. It's far graphic than this show but has characters that stay true to themselves till the very end and find love in horrible circumstances.

Enjoy!

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Oh. My. God. This show is so ridiculously bad, I'm not even mad anymore.

What's worse is that I think I actually may have enjoyed it instead.

Game Rai Game Rak, like almost all Lakorns comes with its fair share of bullshit. You've got an old Island crone whose eyes turn bright blue everytime she sees the future (which ofcourse is completely irrelevant to the plot), you've got a one-dimensional villain, a nasty insecure bitch of a relative who basically destroys lives left and right but somehow has a change of heart in the last ten minutes of the show, wins everyone over and sets off in the sunset without ever having to pay for her crimes.

You've got a selfless and highly forgiving damsel in distress who's constantly being sexually, physically and mentally harassed by our main lead who misunderstands her because of trusting the lies his worst enemy fed him.
Not the brightest tool in the shed, I tell you.

Ofcourse there is always that one guy who is like a brother to our heroine (however always conveniently having waaay more skinship than normal siblings have) who inspires jealousy and possessiveness in the male lead who then proceeds to humiliate the heroine by calling her a slut and whatnot. We also can't possibly forget the one or two or in this case, three other guys who're interested in the female lead and are so insignificant, they might as well be invisible.

Everything is overdramatic and over the top. Rape gets romanticized like nobody's business. People get shot and catch bullets on the daily. Corny dialogues flow out like bad breath everytime someone opens their mouth. Obnoxious music starts playing every ten minutes; effectively swiping away any sincerity that the show managed to portray. Scenes are constantly repeated and the plot-line soon gets derivative.
In short, it's an honest to God definition of a hot mess.

But then again, nobody watches Lakorns for a solid story, well developed characters or a good plot with lack of loopholes. No, people mostly watch Lakorns because they're the classic guilty pleasures and because they get the chemistry between characters spot-on.

Game Rai Game Ruk is no different, which is why despite everything, I still watched it to the end.

This is the third Thai drama starring Yaya, that I have watched and unsurprisingly she impressed me once again. Her acting is always a 100% genuine and the characters she brings to life are so hard not to love.

Game Rai Game Rak is very very similar to Kleun Cheewit; having an almost identical feel at times, but where Jeerawat was a fierce and fearless woman, Fahlada radiates innocence. She's pure, delicate and basically the classic good girl- all the while, successfully staying far away from the 'kind but dumb' category everybody hates.

However, as adorable as she is, I feel that if you don't like YaYa you might not like Fahlada either. In Kleun Cheewit, I started to love the actress because of the drama and her role in it but in GRGR, I liked the drama only because I loved the actress and if I had seen this drama first I might've never adored Urassaya as much as I do now.

After watching this drama I finally understand why Yaya and Nadech are such a big deal in Thai entertainment industry. Their chemistry is absolutely electric and while I did feel that Nadech has a short emotional range as an actor, I believe this was one of his best roles.

From start to finish, it's impossible to hate Saichon. Even when things get ugly and he acts like an ultimate creep by smelling Fah's hair when she isn't looking, taking pictures of her when she's unaware, spying on her with a telescope, tying her up again and again and degrading her, (there's always the unforgivable and romanticised implied rape and all the other times he makes her cry and do things without her will) the reason you can't hate him is because of their sweet as hell moments in the island and the surety that no matter how rotten he acts he still deeply loves Fahlada.

The ultimate on-his-knees groveling session at the end and the fact that Fahlada hits him quite a lot all the time really does help his case furthur and to be honest, even though I am highly unforgiving of assholes there was never a moment where I didn't root for them to be together.

So all in all, Game Rai Game Rak is the kind of show that you can only watch while being extremely lenient 'cause the moment you start to notice all that is wrong with it, you'll start hating it. While I reccomend this for a good time-pass, personally, I skipped and fastforwarded a lot of scenes because, as the show progresses the episodes begin to be filled with more of the same thing. So even if it is skipped a bit, it won't effect the over-all watching experience.

Your classic bad boy-good girl story that you'll love to hate and hate to love and unfortunately do both by the end.

Enjoy!

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Kleun Cheewit is basically a mixture of everything you hate combined into something you'll like. My experience with lakorns is pretty sour, if I'm being honest. The last Thai Drama I watched was Full House and to say I disliked it would be an understatement. So granted, I wasn't expecting much from Kleun Cheewit and unsurprisingly in many ways it did live up to the low expectations.

This lakorn is filled with over dramatic and almost insincere portrayal of characters. It's loud, in your face, try hard and almost obnoxious in its production. In short, it's like a bad action movie. With exaggerated expressions, corny dialogues and intense music- Kleun Cheewit lacks the simplicity that comes with being subtle. Almost all of the females in the drama are insecure, jealous and backstabbing bitches who are unfortunately, complemented with their chauvinistic dick-headed male counterparts. However, like some classic soap operas it is highly addictive. It is that ball of slime that you keeping rolling between your fingers no matter how squeamish the feeling.
Once you start it, it's really hard to stop watching for it is a fast paced drama with never a calm moment and all kinds of bombs exploding everywhere.

Ultimately however, there was one woman who singlehandedly carried this show on her back and that is: Sperbund Urassaya.
Yaya is stunningly beautiful and at times, I was simply mesmerized by her. I was hopelessly in love with her outfits, hair and makeup and her toned af gym bod made me want to start working out asap. Being a heterosexual, cis straight girl who's most definitely into men, I feel no shame in saying that I had a massive crush on her. However, her visual beauty would've amount to nothing if she didn't had the talent to back it up. And talent she had. Loads of it. Yaya's portrayal of Jeerawat was the most genuine one in the show; she seemed to be completely natural and in her element which was what made Jee such a likable character.

Jeerawat is a strong and brave woman who's not afraid to speak her mind. And if she has to cut up some next hoes, bitch slap some jealous bitches, throw remote controls at ugly foreheads and knee assholes in the groin to get her point across; so be it. She never backs away from a fight and she's tough as nails. At the same time, she is desperate for love, extremely self-sacrificing, at times vulnerable and someone who is genuinely kind. Surrounded by people who constantly take advantage of her and want to downplay her success, Jeerawat stands tall in her branded shoes and billion dollar dresses. I loved her so much, that even the fact that her waterworks started every five minutes in every episode couldn't lessen it. 'Cause only Jeerawat could make the highly irritating runny nose, pitiful 'woe is me' look work.

The only other character I loved in the show was P'Sukki; Jeerawat's very gay, very fierce manager slash best friend. He always has her back, is with her in her worst moments and he knows how to put twats in their rightful place. He's a completely Diva, way too extra and melodramatic but there ain't no messing with him cause rest assured, no matter what the case P'Sukki always has the last laugh.

Now let's talk about our Male Lead. Is it just me or is he just so 'slap-able'? He made me feel sheer violence and I think I spent the entirety of the show cussing him out. For a lawyer he sure is good at breaking the law. He constantly gets into fist fights, waves around revolvers like they're lollipops, sexually harasses and physically assaults women and at the end of it all, still has the gall to act all self-righteous and holier than thou. Like bitch please.

I get that Mark Prin was supposed to play this brooding bad boy but with his chubby cheeks and midget height all he managed to do was look nasty. Again, as an ordinary person I could somewhat understand his reasons. When we lose someone, we are angry at the world and we want someone to take the blame but Sathit wasn't any other person. He was a lawyer; someone who knows that there are a million different reasons and circumstances behind apparent crimes and for him to go to such lengths to destroy an innocent woman's life and drag out his single minded revenge was just plain ridiculous. And even though Jee makes him work for it and grovel towards the end, I still feel that his atonement wasn't half as much as his sins. I was fully rooting for Jeerawat to dump his bratty ass and fly away but oh well, she was a tad too forgiving for my taste.

One thing that Thai Dramas do best is the OTP chemistry. Even though, I didn't like the hero I couldn't deny that the sexual tension between them both was almost tangible. Lakorns know how to do skinship right and the interactions between couples definitely give you the feels. On a side note tho, I did feel that the concept of personal space was kind of alien in Kleun Cheewit. Even people who weren't love interests sure knew how to be intimate. lol

The rest of the characters were pretty one-dimensional, doing the same bullshit over and over again and never getting tired. The soundtrack wasn't to my taste, the direction was less than mediocre and I wouldn't be watching this show again. However, I would most definitely be watching more of Urassaya.

So if you have a lot of free time on your hand (one episode is 2 hours) and you wanna waste it by indulging in petty drama, lots of backstabbing and some ovary-exploding scenes then be sure to watch Kleun Cheewit.

Enjoy!

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Don’t dread the ending, enjoy the journey!

Princess Agents has most definitely been my favorite drama of 2017. I have been waiting for a long time to write this review and many a times I almost gave into the urge to gush about it to everyone but unlike some impatient little boogers, I decided to wait for the drama to completely air first. I'm glad I did.

Even though, Princess Agent's story remained interesting from start to finish, it was the cast and characters that were the essence of the show.
Everyone who knows me, knows that I for one have a lot of love for my lady badasses and Chu Qiao was the definition of a badass. She was brilliant, witty, an excellent fighter, loyal to the bone and fully determined in her beliefs. Nobody could boss her around and she always stuck to what she thought was right. Watching Zhao Zanilia on-screen has always been a pleasure. She's such a versatile actress and her effortless elegance along with her sincere charisma never fails to make her acting seem extremely natural. I loved Chu Qiao so much and her fighting scenes always blessed me with these unexpected bursts of adrenaline rush that left me jumping around in excitement.

One thing I absolutely hate in Chinese dramas are the robotic and emotionless male leads that are perfect in every way and while, YuWen Yue started off as being cold and aloof, he soon began to win hearts with his unadulterated devotion towards our girl. He's someone who's not afraid to express his honest feelings and show his vulnerable side and that is what made him so endearing. Lin Geng Xin put out the acting of his life and was able to easily deliver YWY's innermost emotions without having to do much. The chemistry between Chu Qiao and YWY was simply electric.
Princess Agents was Kung Fu made sexy and these two characters communicated their every feeling with it. Every time these two were in a room together the temperature rose a few considerable degrees until everything felt hotter and a lot more sensual.

However, even though I was wholeheartedly rooting for YuWen Yue, my love for Yan Xun wasn't insignificant in any way. Dou Shawn brought to life, with his stunning acting, an unforgettable character. His transition from a reckless, know-no-better, kind-hearted prince to a cruel and blinded by vengeance duke was heart breaking. No matter what he did, it was so hard to truly hate Yan Xun because he was a man shaped by the scars of his life; someone slowly losing grasp of the humanity that defined him and it was all just such a shame. With his sharp eyes and an even sharper jawline Yan Xun slayed the hearts of the viewers without even trying.

Normally, I despise love triangles. Primarily because I'm almost always more inclined towards one of the male leads and then all the romantic scenes with the other just piss me off. However, deciding between Yan Xun and Yuwen Yue was such a hard thing to do because they were both fully committed towards their love for Chu Qiao. Whenever my heart was cheering one of them on, there came fluttering a scene with the other man that melted by insides. Chu Qiao had significant history and a strong bond with both of them and by the end of the show, I was almost praying for YX to mess up in some way so she could go to YWY.

Another actress whose work needs to be commended is Li Qin. She played the role of the extremely annoying, holier than thou, too stupid to live princess and played it in such a way that she was still tolerable till the end. Chun'er, time and time again made me want to bang my head with the wall. Not only was she extremely naive and selfish, she always ended up making a tragedy out of herself. She had everybody bend over backwards to save her worthless ass from her own mistakes and then she chose to blame others for her failures. All of her schemes always failed and it ended in her being utterly humiliated. So it was only because of the brilliant acting that by the end of the show the watchers still harbored some sympathy for her. Li Qin is undeniably talented and her portrayal of some scenes often left me open mouthed.

Backed by stunning visuals, a hauntingly good soundtrack and a gripping plot-line, Princess Agents was a treat throughout. It had me waking up at 7 am every morning because I wanted to see the new episode as soon as the subs were released. It had me watching entire episodes in raw form just because I was too impatient to know what happened next and it had me wishing away my weekends because I had no episode to look forward to then.

All in all, this review clearly shows how much I loved this drama so you must be wondering why then, did I not give it a solid 10? That is where we address the elephant in the room. Up until most of the show, I was willing to give it a 10 without a second thought and then came the outrageous ending.

The drama ends with the worst cliff hanger in Asian Drama history with absolutely nothing resolved. It's like the thing that you've been looking forward to throughout 67 episodes finally appears and when everything is at its peak, the show ends and your celebratory moment is snatched away from you. However, it would've been all okay if a second season with the same cast had been confirmed. Then this horribly disappointing finale would've been converted to a powerful episode that filled one with anticipation for the next season but that is not the case. The news for the second season is muddy at best and there's a high chance that the actors for the show will be changed out.

That is what makes millions of viewers so angry and devastated because this seems like a huge injustice. A disrespect to the drama, the actors who worked their ass off and the viewers who had been wholly attached to the story. What we wanted was closure but instead it was like we were handed the short end of the stick. The last few episodes were filled with unnecessary filler trash and the writers cramped everything into the finale, shoved all of it under a rug and dusted their hands with it.

This is the reason why this show could have been something phenomenal but ended up having its head cut off due to poorly planned decisions made on the behalf of the Princess Agent's team. Just like in the show the foul actions of an insecure King ruined the lives of many, the reckless actions of the drama creators eradicated many hopes.

I myself felt betrayed. The ending was like a personal offense and all the hours invested into the drama suddenly felt wasted. In that moment I wanted to give it a 4/10 rating out of rage, which is why I completely understand the low reviews and the hate comments. Once you see the ending, slowly you start to judge the entire show and downplay everything about it. All the things that seemed so great before, start to leave a sour taste in the mouth. However while I understand it, doesn't mean I would do the same myself because even if I had known beforehand the way it was going to end, I would have still chosen to watch the show. Because upon further thinking I realized that for me being on this journey with these amazing characters and creating a bond with all of them, alone was a great experience and discrediting the whole show just because of the ending seemed unfair.

So if you're considering watching it, don't dread the result rather enjoy the process.

Good Luck!

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Defendant for me was this year's most anticipated drama. I remember that while it was airing and everybody was talking about it, I used to look at it with greedy eyes everyday. I wanted to watch it so bad but at the same time, I knew that in order to enjoy it fully I needed to wait for completion. I'm glad I waited 'cause I truly can't comprehend how I would have withstood the torture that this show's cliffhangers inflicted upon the poor watchers.

If you're like me and you've watched your fair share of crime dramas you won't find the premise of this show exactly unique. You'll be able to guess most of the plot twists (if not all) and see a lot of things coming beforehand. Defendant comes with it's flaws. There are a lot of convenient coincidences that aid both our good guys and the baddies. Sharp tools just happen to be lying around jail cells just waiting to be used by the inmates, a circuit somehow just happens to break resulting in a power black out whenever it is needed, a very useful recording device disguised as a pen just happens to travel around wringing confessions from the evil doers left and right and our antagonist somehow conveniently transforms from an up to no good loser to an identity stealing mastermind overnight.
How very interesting.

However, with its slightly rocky plot comes a masterful execution. Even though you know what's going to happen, when it actually happens it feels like a completely new and exciting experience. Our good guys seem to be trapped in their own version of real life flappy bird. It's one step forward from the abyss of doom and twenty steps backwards. So when convenient coincidences happen to rule things in their favor, I'd be damned if I have a problem with it.

This is the kind of show that banks on the watcher's heart rather than the mind. It will make you blinded with emotion and leave all logic behind. But the real reason this show is a hit is the excellent acting put out by all the actors.

Ji Sung as always is phenomenal. From Secret to Kill Me Heal Me and finally to Defendant, you can see his acting evolve and grow more powerful. He's an extremely skilled performer and many a times I suffered through a serious case of gooseflesh while watching him. By the middle of this show I was completely invested, horribly torn apart and crossing my fingers for him to turn the tables on all the assholes that had done him wrong.

Usually in melodramas, when you see the main character go through tragedy after tragedy, it turns from heartbreaking to frustrating real quick. Soon you go from wanting to wipe the hero's tears to slapping his mouth shut and putting an end to the sob fest. However, Ji Sung got me every time. His pain, helplessness and tears always made me wail like a baby. I didn't realize I was rocking so much H2O in my body until it came out gushing from my peepers. I think I felt quite a lot dehydrated after finishing this show.

Uhm Ki-Joon with his Cha Min Ho put out the acting of his life. He's heartless, ruthless, evil without a cause and at last, pitiful. He's probably one of the best antagonists of Dramaland and undoubtedly one of the most hated characters. His impulsive acts of violence leave you shaking with fury and you'll find yourself thirsty for his demise.
A lot of people thought that his situation was a little unrealistic but as a daughter of a detective, I can say that I've seen many real life cases where the criminals start with seemingly minor and thoughtless crimes and commit far worse atrocities to cover it up. In Cha Min Ho's case, he sticks to it to the very end. His bag of tricks is endless and you never find a peaceful moment with him.

Even though this show truly focuses on the two main men, some other characters will weasel their way in your heart and take permanent residence. These were the characters that I wanted to hide in my back pocket and protect from all the cruelty of the world. And even though my wishful thinking did not save all of them, I treasured every moment they were on-screen.
My precious and loyal Seong Kyu, my shady but hilarious Optimus Shin Cheol Sik, Prosecuter Choi Tae Hong who never once lost faith, Jeong Woo's merry band of prison inmates and the resilient Seo Eun Hye all brought their own flavor to the show.

This drama has a deep underlying message about how family makes or breaks you. How people are willing to go to every length to save their loved ones and how it's never too late for justice. With an extremely satisfying ending; giving closure to all the characters and answer to your every question, Defendant takes a spot among dramas that are consistently amazing from start to finish.

A dark and gritty suspense drama that comes with its share of heartbreak.

An absolute must-watch

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