Not as good as expected

I was really (really REALLY) looking forward to this drama. It was for me THE first half 2024 drama (I was soooo excited to watch it, just couldn’t wait !!).
I didn’t read anything about it before watching so I only knew it was about a « super heroes family » who lost their super powers. And also that Chun Woo Hee and Jang Ki Yong were FL and ML.

All episodes were finally available on Netflix, to start watching :)))

First thing I’ve really loved : the 5 stars casting !!! There is not only Chun Woo Hee (in my top 10) and Jang Ki Yong (in my top 10). There is also Ryu Abel (also in my top 10), Park So Yi (she was so great in See you in my 19th life), Claudia Kim (I’ve liked to hate her in GyeongSeong Creature), Oh Man Seo (nice father in SitR), Go Doo Shim (I’ve liked her in Our Blues) Moon Woo Jin & Kim Soo In (they were both excellent as young FL & ML in IOTNBO) !!! So just perfect casting :))))))

About the drama, the first episodes were great. The drama is about super power recovering, intra family relationships, healing, love, scams…. lot of good things/topics.
But to be honest, the more I watched episodes the more I found it boring.
From my point of view, good/big potential of story was not used… it is a shame !
The show has quickly turned into a soft, predictable and a bit boring or insipid one. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying it was not good. There was just a lack of intensity and action (remember, we’re talking about « super heroes » main characters here !!!).

Other point, FL & ML chemistry is not the best one I’ve seen (not the worst one either). I think Jang Ki Yong’s acting skills are better when he portrays « dark » characters (like in My Mister). I didn’t like his « in love » acting. Chun Woo Her’s acting was better but she cannot carry chemistry alone.

To summarize => waste of potential.
I was a bit disappointed because I expected much more from this drama. It is not a bad one nor a good one. Only a average one that won’t be part of my Top 10.
Didn’t pay attention to OST.
No rewatch value for me (I rather rewatch better dramas/movies with main actors, like Be melodramatic, My Mister, Our love story, See you in my 19th life, GyeongSeong Creature or IOTNBO)

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Waste of potential + Overratings

I was looking forwards all episods to being available on Netflix to start watching this drama.

Way different lead characters (rich strong and « bad tempered » FL + poor calm and easy going ML), story/plot (couple and family relationships, disease, finding love again, etc), amazing casting (Kim Ji Won, Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Joo Bin, Park Sung Hoon, Kwak Dong Yeon) and OST.
From my point of view there was a lot of positive things making me feel that I’ll really enjoy QoT.

But actually this drama didn’t met my expectations. First episods were good but then it became worse from an episod to another. Overacting sometimes (but still love actors I mentioned above), unrealistic or stupid situations, lack of character development, predictable twists (it ends exactly how you think it will end from second half of the drama),

The production/filming was great but unfortunately writing and direction could have been better. It didn’t allow actors to show how good they are (like in My liberation notes, IOTNBO, The glory, Be melodramatic, etc).

For me, it is same as for CLOY => waste of potential, overratings and no rewatch value (rewatch drama listed above would be better)

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Why… ?

I don’t know what to say about this show…
I didn’t read synopsis, articles nor reviews about it so I didn’t know what to expect from this (I wanted to watch it just because of Chun Woo Hee).

And hmmm… It was a disturbing show and I feel a bit uncomfortable.

This is a critic about power of/and money, hierarchy in society, human nature/behaviors, survival, etc…
So we quickly understand the message behind this show but I feel uncomfortable about the way it has been delivered.
I’m probably a bit too sensitive but I think it could have been delivered with lower level of sadism, brutality, cruelty, torture… (I agree with another reviewer, it made me think to movie « Saw »).
I don’t like this kind of shows but if I’d have to watch a similar show I’d prefer Squid Game which is a bit « fairer » regarding status of each character.

Casting and acting were good (tbh I prefer Chun Woo Hee portraying nicer characters).
Directing/prod good as well (8 episod is enough).
Didn’t pay attention to music.
No rewatch value for me (too much free violence)

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Not as great as expected

I was sooooo looking forward to this movie (because Shin Hae Sun stars in it). I only knew it was a thriller movie partially about social medias, nothing else more.

The story is well written but it is predictable. Even is there is twists, you see them coming and guess what ?! What you’re expecting/guessing is exactly what happens. Same with the end… Even if storyline is consistent there is no surprise.
So this is not a bad movie but not a good one either actually.

The casting is good, ML and inspector are great.
Shin Hae Sun is amazing, no matter what kind of characters she portrays, she is ALWAYS great and her acting skills are ALWAYS impressive (the way she plays the scene when she gets arrested is soooo good !!!) She’s definitely one of my 3 favorite actresses <3

To summary I’m a bit disappointed because I expected this movie to be better than it actually is but I enjoyed it (especially Shin Hae Sun acting skills !)

No rewatch value for me (I’d rather rewatch shows of main actors) and didn’t pay attention to OST

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Waste of potential !!

Interesting story/plot and amazing casting made me really want to watch this drama.

And… so disapointing at the end !!

At first I wanted to list each situation and detail I thought stupid, unrealistic and/or inconsistent but tbh it’d be too long (if you want more details or if you want to discuss, please send me a message).
So I’m writing only global comments.

Most of main characters are not enough or not properly developed. FL character is weak, phone operator is so turncoat, north spies are not credible. And I don’t even speak about south politicians and their wives, or about dorm faciliy manager and his son or about the 2 boyfriends of FL’s friends, those characters are not credible or too absurd and inconsistent for me.
Only the 2 main ANSP characters are quite well written (excepted for rabbit thing).

This is a shame because there is a lot of amazing actors in this drama.
Storyline and/or directing (only from my point view) didn’t make them shine nor well portray their characters. Again, a shame because these actors were sooo great in others dramas… (like in Something in the Rain, Be Melodramatic, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Misaeng, etc…)

I’ve found political manipulations and schemes unbearable or even unrealistic. Even I imagine similar things can exist in real life (altought…), I actually really don’t like to see this kind of things in dramas (I admit this point is a matter of taste).

I’m still wondering what genre of drama it is… I feel like they’ve wanted to mix several kind (thriller/political, action, romance, comedy). Balance is not good and they lost the potential of this drama from an episode to another…

Even special/visual effects were poor / bad…

And finally the ending is so damn frustrating !!

The only positive things for me were :
- Discovering actress Jisoo : Good surprise !! Her acting skills are pretty good. Even if her character could have been better (I’ve found it weak. I’d have prefer she portrays a stronger one), I enjoyed watching her and she made me want to follow her upcoming works.
- Kim Hye Yoon acting skills : even portraying a kind of « vilain » character, she is still sooo good !! I’ve already seen (and liked) her in Romance genre but I admit I’ve really liked to hate her in this one.
- Jung Eugene and Jang Seung Ji : luckily their characters were pretty consistent, making their acting better than most of the others actors.
From my point of view, these 4 actors saved this drama !!
- (I’ve also liked abs/body of Lim Soo Ho / Jung Hae In in ep 3 ^^ eheh)

To summarize : I don’t recommend Snowdrop. Most of main actors can show you how brillant they are in other dramas better than this one.
No rewatch value
OST didn’t make me want to add songs on my playlist

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Good but not great

Beware => spoilers

The plot and storyline of this movie are pretty simple, basic but efficient : an older sister looking for her little sister after she disappeared. And she decides to take revenge.

Lee Si Young well portrays a badass FL (similar character one as in Sweet Home). Her acting skills in movies of this genre (action/fighting) are very good.
The other characters are not really important. Not that I want to minimize the job done by the other actors but I think support roles could be portrayed by any other actors, I doesn’t matter. This movie was only done for Lee Si Young.

I give this movie a good rate because of badass FL, because of the revenge taking story and also because of action scenes. But not high rate because I admit I’ve felt pretty uncomfortable about everything the young sister went through… I’m sure storyline could have been the same even if the bully/abuse level had been lower.

Good movie but no rewatch value for me.
(Didn’t pay attention to OST)

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Good start but getting worse

As usual, I didn’t read anything or watch trailer before watching this show. I only knew it was a survival genre, a bit similar to Sweet Home. I didn’t even know casting.

Things of first episodes I’ve enjoyed the most:
- Han Hyo Joo as FL : for a long time I wanted to watch a drama she stars. Her acting skills are very good ! Even if she looks nice and sweet, she portrays a strong/badass character very well !
- Park Hyung Sik as ML : even if I didn’t like Dr Slump, I think is a great actor (loved him in Soundtrack #1)
- High level of action and intensity from the beginning/first episode of the show. It’s been a while first episodes of a drama hooked me that much.

But from ep4 action level lowered. There was more resident relationship scenes than survival (residents vs infected) scenes.
The show is mainly focused on manipulations, lies and plots… almost every man for himself.
It shown the worst side of human nature/behavior (I really don’t like this kind of drama, it is hard for me to watch this. I’ve almost gave up at ep10…but only 2 episodes left so I kept watching).
To finish, the « Andrew » twist is from my point of view a total nonsense ! And the 2 last episodes have been rushed (so predictable/cliché)

This is sooo disappointing because I really expected « action/survival » drama (safe vs infected) and I haven’t got :(

About leads chemistry, it is very good. FL and ML portray lead couple in a very natural way (one of the best couple I’ve seen among a lot of dramas).

A few songs of OST are good enough to be added to a playlist.

To summarize, I’ve watched this show, it is not one of my favorite and I won’t rewatch it…

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Job done !

It was the first time I watched a Cdrama so no other Cdrama to compare to… And I have to say that enjoyed it most of the time.

On one (negative) hand, it was for me a typical Romance drama with classic storyline, no surprise, no plot twist (« they lived happily ever after »).
And sometimes too slow and boring (I admit I sometimes used fast forward button).

One the other (positive) hand, you get what you expect from a Romance drama : a love story without (a lot of) troubles (there is the ML’s father story but it isn’t much compares to real life), a happy ending (again « they lived happily ever after »).
A sweet, adorable and heartwarming drama with a beautiful chemistry between lead characters, cute and tender moments of romance and a funny relationship between siblings.

About acting, I didn’t know Zhao Lu Si (FL) before and I liked her acting (made me want to see more cdramas she stars in).
I also liked Chen Zhe Yuan (ML) and Victor Ma (FL’s brother) acting, they were great too.

I really appreciated the directing that allow actors to portray characters in a very natural way !!

I liked the OST and it was a good surprise to find out that Zhao Lu Si is also a great singer. I’ve added 2 or 3 songs to my Drama playlist.

Finally, yes I understand some people could find this drama too cheesy, unrealistic and a bit boring. But from my point of view, it met expectations of « sweet & adorable » Romance drama (if I’d wanted to see real slice of life drama, I’d have prefer My mister, Lost, My liberation notes or similar dramas…)

To summary, if you need heartwarming feelings and butterflies in your life, this drama is made for you.

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Classic RomCom with nice moments

The story sounded good : 2 rivals in school meeting each other again several years later. Both having bad days (depression, work issue, burnout, bankrupt, …), supporting each other and falling in love and then finally getting better.

A good start but quickly turned into a classic and predictable RomCom (with all tricks and clichés of this kind of drama). Nice moments sometimes but no surprise after all…
So nothing special to say, not a bad or good drama, just a classic one…

Great casting but usual overacting (that I don’t like).
It was my first drama with Park Shin Hye as FL, I’ve liked her. And my second drama with Park Hyung Sik, I’ve prefered his acting in Soundtrack #1.
Actors of support roles were good too (interesting « support couple », too bad their love story hasn’t been not more developped).

Production and direction were good.
I didn’t really pay attention to OST.
No rewatch value for me

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In my Top 3 Kdrama

Re (re re) watching this drama and still enjoying as much as the first time (or even more !).

2nd of my Top 3 (My Mister 1st and The Glory 3rd),

First time I watched IOTNBO it really was a « good surprise » because synopsis didn’t sound that good for me so I didn’t expected a lot from it.
And woww !!! I was wrong :/ it was so great ! I loved Go Mun Young character. One of my favorite FL characters and soooo well portrayed by Seo Yea Ji, stellar acting / impressive !
Oh Jung Se is also very talented. Of course other actors (Kim Soo Hyun, Park Gyu Young, etc…) are very good too.

I love everything in this drama:
- Amazing casting/acting : as explained above main characters and support roles are portrayed by very great and impressive actors. IOTNBO was the second or third Kdrama I watched and these talented actors made me want to watch more !
- Writing/Story/Plot: Sometimes emotional, sad and/or funny the storyline is consistent and allows actors to shine. Real characters you feel close to. Interesting relationships (love, friendship). Credible development of lead characters and support roles.
- Direction/Filming : same as the storyline, direction/filming allows actors to show how great and talented they are. A great work ! (IOTNBO atmosphere made me think to Tim Burton)
- OST : even OST is very good. A lot of songs are now in my playlist (In Your Time, Wake Up, I’m Your Psycho, In Silence, Facing The Fate, For Joo Ree, etc…)

To summary IOTNBO is for me a Masterpiece I love and recommand ! It is the perfect drama to (re)watch when you want/need to have a good time !

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