BrightestStar

So far the focus seems to be on the bond between the dormmates which I’m really enjoying. Though I don’t have strong feelings on with who the FL would end up with, if any, I am enjoying the tension. I think it’s because it’s a tension between equals. They broke up because of differences in values, not of lack of respect or mistreatment. In a way it felt like betrayal for her so I understand her anger and like how she’s dealing with him haha

From the phone call it’s obvious he’s working undercover but don’t know for who. Even the date with Nora is to get closer to the family with a goal in mind. That still doesn’t excuse his actions in their past. So far romance isn’t a focus. Instead, we have complicated but genuine relationships building in that dorm, sisterly bond which I am loving. I also like Geum Bo’s relationship with her real boss and their secret meetings are entertaining.

I think the situation of the kind of the north was planned out early on and fits the theme. I totally get your reference to Nirvana in Fire, a drama I really loved, but I do appreciate here the reality of plans not going as predicted and having more than 1 genius facing each other and manipulate each other, plans will fail or half succeed.

That being said, I agree with your analysis and criticism. I usually prefer shorter dramad but this one has potential for more depth of characters with more time given.

While I’m fully enjoying watching it now, I feel it’s missing grandiosity. I don’t find that we see too much of Xie Huai An, we definitely don’t see enough of Wu Yang, Gu Yu, Ye Zheng and even the antagonists Yan Feng Shan, Wang Pu. I found them all to be intriguing, cool characters with good performances. We see even less of female characters. 28 episodes cut the potential of greatness.

Another twist on episode 20 😱love it!

oh :( I’m watching it on Netflix they only have 28 episodes. I need to think about subscribing to Youku haha

I don’t particularly care about the actor but this criticism is immature, mean spirited and lacks constructiveness.

But I agree with one thing you said, he’s making the money so doesn’t matter what people comment, he’s making the world work for him.

I most watch Japanese dramas where leading characters can have different looks and age (at least the ones I watch), so I get taken aback by such shallow comments but I guess it’s normal.

Do you know where I can find the extra episode?

My friend watched the Arabic version and gave me the summary of the ending, and her cousin watched the Turkish version and gave her a summary of that which she told me. What I understood the Turkish version made more sense especially the ending, but both have nothing to do with what the original has to say.

This drama is about people who don’t have much, where trauma has lead them to undesirable situations and where healing starts with realizing where you are wrong. And also how the love of a mother, the love of family is where healing starts. There’s no rich people trying to control and manipulate situations, no gangs, just normal simple people. This could have been transposed to a story of a different country like Turkey or Lebanon but that’s not what happened. They took a very shallow version of this, despite having the cast to make something excellent of its own.

I typed to much 🫣 I sometimes get passionate about dramas I like and overtype 😆 I hope I don’t sound mean haha

I’m right there with you! honestly I was shocked :(

it gets even better after episode 10 I find. I’m at episode 13 now and I find I truly started to know the characters and see their growth, and appreciate the performances too

80s vibe, retro and stylish without much substance. Fun watch.

100 % with everything in your review! Couldn’t have said it better, especially the 80s vibe.

I find most of the main cast are playing much younger characters (not that it showed) though they could do better it looked to me they were having fun being “cool” vibing in retro, especially that the movie does give each of them a moment to shine in the last 30 minutes.

I think she would make anyone miserable not just as a gf buy also as a friend.

I’m somewhere on episode 7 and I feel like he should just break with her. She spent a whole episode “trying to understand him” only to throw it all out the next episode.

Also if you noticed in the end when everyone was gathered together, she was the only one who didn’t show up.

Love is blind but I don’t think what Kube felt for her was love, more like admiration of someone out of his league. And he just wasn’t as smart as he thought he was so he was easily manipulated like a nerdy kid getting attention from his long time crush.

I think the whole cast was great. All actors portrayed exactly what their characters were supposed to be.

I think she’s meant to be. She ceases every opportunity that comes to her and doesn’t mind stomping on others. It makes sense with her background. She looks down on her peers and thinks she deserves a better life than others

Last drama complete in 2025. A predictable one that didn’t try to be anything beyond that. Episode 9 was where the drama showed growth in various characters. I kept thinking about Masao’s reasons for his actions and motivations and in episode 9 I realized it was imposter syndrome. But by episode 10 everything got resolved too fast.

Anyways excellent acting by Asano Tadanobu, and overall good job by the whole cast.

Well it was fun but only because I told myself it’s set in an alternate universe. I mean they mention “arab culture” like it’s only in Dubai (that is for sure a sponsor of this drama lol) and don’t even bother knowing anything about the culture and just make things up as they go. Another thing why are so many white men used to play “arab” or at least “arab speaking” characters?

At the very least I think the story would have worked better if the ML had a different name.

Another thing is I find 2 things were forced in the drama that don’t make sense to be present: Romance and a happy ending. I guess the ending being happy is debatable but it still didn’t make sense to me. And the way the characters were presented, especially the female lead, it doesn’t make sense for me that there’s any romance at all. Anyways it’s entertaining if you turn off your brain lol

Why did they change the actress playing grandma? I really like the young version and I think she did a great job presenting the same character but I love the actress playing halmeoni

While the drama does not represent a specific religion in any way, it has taken some inspiration from here and there and interpreted it in a pretty Korean way. One of the things they took from islam is that Satan was never an angel but a Jin. There is more to the story from an Islamic pov but I think they just took this much.