A Revolving Door of Souls in One Body

This sequel promised to bring more intrigue between the opposing factions of mages with Uk now being possessed by the Ice Stone and perhaps a swoon worthy love story with Go Youn Jong replacing Jung So-Min as Naksu. The latter was certainly true being that Go Youn Jong and Lee Jae Wook’s chemistry smoldered unlike his interactions with the previous actress in the role of MuDeok/Naksu.

However, disappointingly, the intrigue with the mage factions came to a screeching halt. With most episodes consisting of Uk falling for Buyeon/Naksu again while killing the monster of the week. Mu continued his nefarious agenda of trying to do….I’m not sure as his agenda got lost in his weekly schemes that never panned out, allies who were sometimes apart of the schemes but their roles weren’t made clear and just the lack of clarity as to why the royal family kept him as an advisor considering the actions he’d precipitated against the monarch in the previous season.

Of course it is learned in the 11th hour of the series that the monarch had been in league with him all along, along with the Unanimous Assembly. Learning this did add some logic to the earlier decisions these characters had made, but still failed to make sense of their end game. Their greed for power was understood. First via the ice stone, then the firebird. The former agenda made more sense than the latter. For the firebird would be difficult to control and would leave the world in shambles. How would this help those greedy for power? It was never made clear.

Moreover, out of all the mages on the Unanimous Assembly only one (too late I might add) realized their plan was a bad idea. It was hard to believe that many seasoned mages who’d seen a lot of good and bad in their lifetime thought Mu’s firebird plan would end with the result they desired. They all came off like a bunch of novice idiots with stars in their eyes over a half-baked plan to grab a smidgen of power, rather than intelligent beings who knew from their ages of experience that this plan would do more harm than good not just for others but themselves. Speaking of Mu his villainy was played out from the first episode. He should’ve been killed in the previous season with another adversary taking on Uk and his family/friends of mages. Mu became unbearable to watch. So much so he nearly ruined the series for me.

Another story thread that became tiresome was Buyeon/Naksu’s soul drama. It didn’t help that every episode changed the story behind what was going on with her soul. First her soul was Naksu, but her blood was that of Buyeon. Hence she could open the ancestral vault of Jinyoun. Then Naksu and Buyeon’s souls were coexisting in the body, with Naksu’s soul soon to disappear. Then it was Cheon which was the name she was born with or perhaps a reincarnation of Seol. By the time the series was over I didn’t know who the heck she was supposed to be.

Despite the confusion surrounding Buyeon/Naksu’s ever changing identity and why it was changing, the love story between she and Uk was well done. The closeness that grew between them was a natural progression and thus believable. And though Buyeon’s connection to Uk and their budding romance was supposed to be due to her soul being that of Naksu, I didn’t feel that she was Naksu. It felt like she was a completely different person, a new person, melting Uk’s heart. Their love story was sweet and their chemistry was amazing. However, I feel the writers took the audience up the mountain but failed to reach its peak. These two had some amazing hugs and kisses. We did get the wedding, but then after that no more smoldering romantic interactions. They may as well been good friends rather than starcrossed lovers who finally beat the odds to be together. Disappointing.

Similar to the first series, the writers missed some opportunities for epic moments within the series. For example, Mu’s death, it should’ve been more painful and dramatic. Uk discovering that Buyeon was really Naksu. He didn’t even blink upon learning this truth, which was odd. Yul being cured of the blood parasite should’ve been more challenging as should’ve been Uk dealing with the firebird. There had been several episodes discussing the dangers of the firebird being awaken and the difficulty in dealing with it only for Uk to wave his sword a couple of times, easily destroying it. Again disappointing. Uk taking on the firebird should’ve been a real battle as I got the impression that on its own it was just as powerful as the ice stone within him.

Though this season had its disappointments, it was still very good and worth watching. Will I watch again? Probably not. There was nothing about this season that was extraordinary enough for me to want to experience it again.

That said, I would absolutely watch a show with the adventures of Uk/Naksu/Buyeon/Cheon/Seol finding the relics that escaped Jinyoun. Provided Naksu/Buyeon/Cheon/Seol doesn’t add another identity/soul to her repertoire. Lol. I think a show about her and Uk’s adventures would be a fun .

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A Rebellion, A Monster and a Weak Love Story

A mission to find a government official’s side piece leads down a rabbit hole of horrific human experiments, a rebellion against the Japanese occupation and of course love.

I generally liked the leads in this but am on the fence about whether PSJ was the right actor for the ML role. He wasn’t bad in the role but I think there are other actors out there who could’ve really owned the part. His acting is good but I don’t think he’s the embodiment of who Jang Tae-sang should be.

The monster being created by the Japanese was a creative way of referencing the history of the experiments they conducted on Koreans during the war and its horribke impact on those individuals. However, how the monster worked within the story wasn’t always consistent. Some managed to fight off the monster and escape its attack unscathed while others were completely eviscerated by it. This was driven more by plot than logic. Same with the anthrax attacks.

The action on this show was pretty good, but what engaged me the most was the human stories of those impacted by the war and the Japanese occupation as well as those working in the rebellion in an attempt to fight back.

The implied feelings developing between the leads was not believable because they have no romantic chemistry and the development of those feelings was random. Having the ML join the rebellion due to his feelings for the FL made no sense for the previously mentioned reasons. There was more than enough going on in his life to drive his change of heart without the FL being the reason.

The production value was superb, save for the CGI of the monster which was hit or miss. The episodes were a little too long, but overall the acting was good and the show entertaining.

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Once again, Xu Kai takes on a Potentially Good Story which Unfortunately Veers off into the Tedious

A woman who is the brains behind the design of a new medical technology is on the precipice of rising to a new level within her company and subsequently the medical technology industry. Not only that, she seems to be well rounded with a personal life full of friends and a loving boyfriend who wants to marry her. Of course her road to career success starts off rough with her male supervisor knowing her talent but deliberately blocking her growth for fear that she’d outshine him and the inevitable male pig or two who feels he can treat women like sexual objects whom he can harass at his leisure. The first few episodes entailed the FlL dealing with these obstacles in the office with no support from her male or female office leaders. It was infuriating to watch, but entertaining.

Ji Xing (FL) was a strong woman who stood up for herself. Reporting sexual harassment when others tried to deter her complaint and quitting her job when she realized they’d never reward the value she brought to the company. Many of us have been there. So I cheered her on when she made that wise decision to move on. Moreover, when friends, colleagues and even her boyfriend weren’t overly supportive of her starting her own business she pushed forward, making adjustments to the business plan where needed, to improve her chances of success. Loved this.

On a shallow note, the FL looked 35 rather than her character’s age. Good actress, but she looked too old to be in her early 20s. The styling of her hair didn't help and the ML though in real life in his late 20s, looked way older than his character's age. But at least he looked old enough to run a conglomerate unlike most of the MLs in C-dramas who look all of 21 years old. Lol.

That said, I liked the business interactions between the leads and was intrigued by how the romance would develop between them, but I also liked the potential that was the relationship between the FL and her boyfriend. The story started to lose my interest with the contrived breakup of the FL and her boyfriend. The reasons made no sense and was a mere plot device, not well written I might add, to make the FL easily available to the ML. It would've been more interesting had the ML had to fight for the FL's affections with her eventually realizing he was a better match for her than her boyfriend. Unfortunately, no such luck. I could predict where the story would go from here as the plot contrivances started almost immediately after the breakup with the ML showing up at the FL’s home for some ridiculous reason, and in turn, happened to meet her mom who loved him. And of course with him now having invested in her business, mind you he only invested so that he could continue to work closely with her in hopes of then dating SMH, the plot contrivances would undoubtedly continue. At this point, I stopped watching the show. It’s a shame because I really liked the set up of the story, but the writing kind of got lost within itself after about 10 episodes.

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Fireworks Have Never Been So Dull

Great set up for this story. A couple who were once involved being torn apart by some painful action of the past, but who are still obviously drawn to each other in the present. The chemistry between the leads was perfect, but the story was far from it. It spent way too much time on the minutiae of everyday life. Granted saving lives is not minute, but it just wasn't interesting here as it wasn't well balanced with the love story that should've been the driving force behind the series and thus the A story instead of the C or D story. The show spent numerous episodes moving the love story at a snails pace with hardly anything happening and when they did try to put more focus on it the dialogue would be at times cringey. For example when the FL was saved from her sinking car by the ML. After he saved her, carrying her from her car of course, she asked him if he "went through all that trouble to save her because he still cared for her." Sigh. The guy is a firefighter that is his job to save people no matter his personal feelings for them. The FL should've known this best being that she is a doctor. SMH. Anyway, it took nearly 20 episodes for there to be any "significant" movement with this relationship and even what happened was barely a step forward. Once I realized there would be another 20 episodes of nothingness with most of the focus being on the fire or medical emergency of the week I gave up on this.

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An Office Romance Wrecks Havoc on the Fragile Career of An Elite Educator

Interesting insight into the elite education field for high schoolers in Korea. Though the FL was very good at what she did her approach, at times, could be off putting. The ML being brought onboard predictably stirred things up and inevitably led to the FL being humbled a bit but it was growth her character needed .

Though the show did a good job at capturing the atmosphere of the elite Korean education system the story wasn’t deeply engaging. There wasn’t anything compelling about the FL standing outside a door waiting for the ML to finish his teacher’s entry exam, watching him do a mock lecture or watching administrators and teachers try and outwit each other to become the next *star* educator at the school. It’s difficult to make a series centered around the classroom interesting, which is why this show struggled to capture this viewer.

The romance wasn’t enough to make up for what was missing in the main story. The leads chemistry wasn’t great, just passable. Their love story was okay. It was a little icky that the ML had a thing for the FL back in high school when she was his teacher. She gave in to his advances almost immediately. It would’ve been more realistic had she resisted his romantic overtures given their past teacher/student relationship, not to mention the risk to her career, for which she’d worked very hard to find extraordinary success.

Overall, this was okay. After I finished the last episode I realized there was nothing memorable about this show. Is it worth watching? Depends on the viewer, but honestly not to me. Is it worth a rewatch? Absolutely not.

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A Dull Demon Doing What’s Been Done Many Times Before, but with little Flare

The premise of this series was quite cliche. It could practically write itself due to how much this type of story has been done. Unfortunately, the writers could not make this interesting at all. The “demon” (Gu-won) is very good looking, love the actor. But there was nothing interesting about him. He made deals with desperate people and collected on those deals 10 years later by collecting their souls and sending them to hell. Okay. Seen this before. Now what?

It is intriguing that he has a cross tattoo on his wrist that apparently holds all his powers and he did have an encounter 200 years earlier with a little girl which I’m guessing somehow connects to the FL in the present, but the details of that story thread likely won’t be explored for another 10 episodes.

The demon’s first meeting with the FL was fun. And the power struggle going on at Almighty Ju’s company has some spark, but overall the story fails at being interesting. The leads look great together but have lukewarm chemistry. The only relationship that really popped in this was Doo-Hee and Ms. Ju. Really loved their conversations and chemistry.

Again I can already guess where the story is going. Gu-won will of course see the error of his demon ways and in turn find his humanity by giving up his powers for love and eventually becoming mortal. I’m also betting he made a deal with Doo-Hee’s parents (probably to save her life or ensure she has a good life) and that’s why they died in that car accident. This will be a source of angst in their romance. Nothing wrong with a story being predictable but it needs to be interesting. I gave this three episodes and just couldn’t care enough about the story to continue so I stopped watching.

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Snoozeworthy Love Story with Characters Who Lack Chemistry

I knew this series was in trouble when it spent the first 15-20 minutes on characters who weren’t the leads in a silly dispute. The FL lead was involved, in a attempt, I’m guessing, to set up who she was but she was playing a supporting role in those first 15-20 minutes in a storyline that was neither good nor interesting.

The story eventually progressed to its main storyline introducing the the male lead who couldn’t be more dull. The overbearing mother demanding that he immediately find a wife didn’t help matters either. The leads finally meet and unfortunately they are about as exciting as watching paint dry. No chemistry whatsoever. Both actors are attractive and can act but their characters are as dull as dishwater.

The contract marriage trope always has an element of ridiculousness but the suspension of disbelief required for this story is a lot. This was because the lies to keep up the illusion of the contract marriage were so over the top, so unnecessary and so far from who these characters are it just didn’t make sense. If the FL was smart she would’ve made sure the lies closely aligned with the truth. Thus they’d be easy to remember but the fibs she came up with were ridiculously elaborate which I imagine will eventually lead to the undoing of her and the ML’s scheme. The side stories with the brother and the FL's ex are annoying rather than intriguing or funny. And the leads apparently starting to fall for each other is just not believable, due in part to the lack of chemistry between them and their love story being poorly written.

I gave it 10 episodes because I like Xua Kai, but stopped watching as I was FF through episodes more than I was watching them. Needless to say I won’t be finishing this series and don’t think it’s worth watching.

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Off the Rails Before the Story Could Gain Traction

Nice science fiction setup about parallel universes. The wealthy FL is transported to the past after following the advice of an acquaintance who assures her if she arrives at a specific location at a specific time she’ll find her missing friend. Speeding to that location in an effort to meet the deadline she ends of careening off a bridge into the water and traveling to an alternate universe that ends up being the year 2018.

Sounds exciting right? Yes! Unfortunately this is where the excitement ends. The FL struggles to understand what is going on and immediately discovers the life she previously had doesn’t exist in this version of 2018. She gets some help from a stranger who gives her shelter for the night then she meets the ML who proceeds to help her while also stalking her. The first four episodes is literally her finding a job and the ML following her around town because of course she’s some woman, likely a love interest from his past, whom he must look out for. There is nothing more about the sci-fi of the story. If a viewer didn’t know any better this would be another boring romance drama.

Such a shame because I like the actors in this and the premise has promise, but the show seemed to have abandoned that premise for the mundane day to day life of the FL and her inevitable romance with the ML.

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A Repeat of Once We Get Married this Was Not

The leads in this have wonderful chemistry. They played opposite each other in Once We Get Married and did a phenomenal job. So this series already had extra points for casting them together again. The premise of the series was strong with a lot of potential but unfortunately the story quickly lost steam early on. I don't know if it was too much focus on the kid, which can sometimes happen when dramas are centered around children or if it was the conflict in the story shifting to business which wasn't well written, but this just started not to work in part due to these issues. As a result, I did not continue this show and dropped it about 1/4 of the way through.

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