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Hotel del Luna korean drama review
Completed
Hotel del Luna
0 people found this review helpful
by KDrama_Boy
Mar 22, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers

Lee Ji-Eun (IU) is amazing

I just finished watching LJE (IU) in My Mister and I was really impressed with her abilities. She really made that show. I thought the show was a little depressing, but based on the age difference and Dong Hoon's character I didn't see it turning out any other way.

I'd seen HDL advertised before, but it was the Hong Sister's drama, so I gave it a pass. I find their dramas to be a bit draggy with unsatisfying endings. When I saw that LJE was the lead I had to give it a shot and she did not disappoint.

I thought her acting was better in My Mister, as her range of expressions seemed a bit limited in HDL, I'm thinking of the patented eye roll. Although I can somewhat forgive this given the number of scenes, she is in. It makes me tired just watching her; I can't imagine the amount of work required to shoot 16 episodes of 90ish minute drama. The other thing that stood out to me was the number wardrobe changes, hairstyle changes, makeup looks, and false nail updates. I noticed the nail updates were less frequent as the show progressed, I assume this reflected her growth, but I can also see it just being a time factor. I'm usually all about the story, production quality and the OST, but the costume changes were outstanding.

I saw a lot of raving about the cinematography in other reviews, which I normally don't care about, but I must admit that the choice of locations and shots were awesome.

The supporting cast were a bit corny, but that seems to be a K-Drama thing in general. The performances were all quite good. I liked the young actress who played Yu-Na and the Magos were amusing. I also thought Yeo Jin-Goo was outstanding; I saw others say they thought he was a bad fit, but I thought he was a good romantic lead.

I enjoyed the main story, and I did not mind the episodic nature of the ghost of the week. Most of the sub plots were interesting enough on their own and there were only a few episodes that did not seem to advance the main story. The ending seemed a little rushed, as they spent time fleshing out the supporting characters departing. I would like to have seen more relationship development between the leads and a happier ending. Although this is a personal choice, and I might just be missing it already.

it's not lost on me what a beautiful woman IU is, although TBH I preferredd her basic look as the rebel.
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