Bhoomi
All show, no substance
PROS:
> the cast and their acting (within the limited scope they had)
> the chemistry b/w the main characters
> the soundtrack
> the visuals, scenery, the mood
> Seo In Guk's hair
> the ending of each episode
> first four and last two episodes
> the beauty of the series, overall ( due to cinematography, OST and the good-looking cast, NOT the plot)
CONS:
> non-progressive, stagnated storyline
> anachronistic views: FL>poor, pitiful, damsel in distress; ML> handsome, mysterious, (white) knight; relationship > overly 'tragic'
> romance(s) stuck in a never-ending back-and-forth-loop
> lack of depth in plot
> lack of depth in characters
> one-dimensional side characters
> lack of explanation of 'main issue'
> confusing, hollow dialogues
> poorly-executed storyline for second leads
> too many outdated clichés
It is really sad, that this series turned out to be so flawed and – I'm sorry– so BORING, as the main idea of an ordinary girl falling in love with doom - not a goblin or some fox - was something fresh, unheard of, something like Romeo and Juliet, a relationship that should not be – promising and intriguing, except for..... the sloppy execution of that idea, the dialogues and pace.
Even though the chemistry is great between the leads, their relationship isn't. It seemed forced and sudden. It's further really hard to follow their conversation. It's basically Russian roulette with "falling in love" and "dying" as bullets. "Contract" being the trigger and indecisiveness being the force. Note, that my wording here is way more straightforward than the actual event. Also, they talk in a quite literary way, which doesn't help at all in getting the drift of their verbal exchange and emerging conflicts; you end up focusing rather on the visuals and the mood than the dialogues, what, however, is not even tragic, as soon another discussion breaks out, which makes the story come full circle - right back to the starting point. Every episode feels like a repetition of the previous one. Peak of the iceberg is the divine hospital girl, who confuses everyone including herself with her philosophical touch on everything and the plant she wants to grow...or not? She too, seems to suffer from indecisiveness. Surprisingly, same goes for the second leads. Doomed be determination.
And also in later parts of the story when you kind of manage to get the drift of what they are saying, the characters, be it the mains or sides, say the wrong and most stupidest things?! Like the opposite of what they want to say, putting blame on others or the circumstances or most commonly, talk past each other. Even the romantic lines kdramas are infamous for, were sort of misplaced and irritating here, like there is some dramatic scene and they are like "you shocked cause I'm so pretty?" Like what?! No! Really frustrating, makes you want to actually get on a plane, fly to Korea, seek the writer and make her take a class on how actual conversations look like.
Also, I admire Park Bo Young a lot, but I'm confused with her character, sometimes she seems reserved, quite and serious and then suddenly Do Bong-Soon appears and she is quirky, funny and flirty/sarcastic - it's a clash of Na Bong Soon and Do Bong Soon (oh my ghost - strong girl bong soon) — or Na bong soon who is possessed — I wished her character would be more consistent, I don't know, maybe I've seen to many shows with her to tell her characters apart.
The other characters aren't even worth to be talked about. Even though some of them get to shine in the last episode, they overall seem more like the first unfinished draft of an idea of a character than a real character, especially Myeol Mang, our 'doom', more like 'handsome-guy-who-is-just there-to-look-cool-and-hold-hands'.
This is a very slow-paced drama, which I did not mind in the beginning but as the story progressed the plot became too dragged with too many unnecessary back-and-forth-scenes; and although everything seemed drawn-out and repetitive and a lot of the screen time was invested in the relationship between the characters, their lengthy dialogues and that damn contract, it still feels like we've only scratched the surface of it all. There are still unanswered questions and plot holes left and even if some passionate viewers –if you've scrolled through the comment section –really try their best to come up with theories and explanations, it cannot hide the fact that this show lacks substance and is not as deep as it pretends to be.
The first three or four episodes and the final ones are nice, but cannot atone for the lacking depth and tedious narrative, this should have been a mini series of 10 to 12 episodes. It was only for PBY and SIG I could carry on with this show, would have honestly dropped it if they had cast other actors.
> the cast and their acting (within the limited scope they had)
> the chemistry b/w the main characters
> the soundtrack
> the visuals, scenery, the mood
> Seo In Guk's hair
> the ending of each episode
> first four and last two episodes
> the beauty of the series, overall ( due to cinematography, OST and the good-looking cast, NOT the plot)
CONS:
> non-progressive, stagnated storyline
> anachronistic views: FL>poor, pitiful, damsel in distress; ML> handsome, mysterious, (white) knight; relationship > overly 'tragic'
> romance(s) stuck in a never-ending back-and-forth-loop
> lack of depth in plot
> lack of depth in characters
> one-dimensional side characters
> lack of explanation of 'main issue'
> confusing, hollow dialogues
> poorly-executed storyline for second leads
> too many outdated clichés
It is really sad, that this series turned out to be so flawed and – I'm sorry– so BORING, as the main idea of an ordinary girl falling in love with doom - not a goblin or some fox - was something fresh, unheard of, something like Romeo and Juliet, a relationship that should not be – promising and intriguing, except for..... the sloppy execution of that idea, the dialogues and pace.
Even though the chemistry is great between the leads, their relationship isn't. It seemed forced and sudden. It's further really hard to follow their conversation. It's basically Russian roulette with "falling in love" and "dying" as bullets. "Contract" being the trigger and indecisiveness being the force. Note, that my wording here is way more straightforward than the actual event. Also, they talk in a quite literary way, which doesn't help at all in getting the drift of their verbal exchange and emerging conflicts; you end up focusing rather on the visuals and the mood than the dialogues, what, however, is not even tragic, as soon another discussion breaks out, which makes the story come full circle - right back to the starting point. Every episode feels like a repetition of the previous one. Peak of the iceberg is the divine hospital girl, who confuses everyone including herself with her philosophical touch on everything and the plant she wants to grow...or not? She too, seems to suffer from indecisiveness. Surprisingly, same goes for the second leads. Doomed be determination.
And also in later parts of the story when you kind of manage to get the drift of what they are saying, the characters, be it the mains or sides, say the wrong and most stupidest things?! Like the opposite of what they want to say, putting blame on others or the circumstances or most commonly, talk past each other. Even the romantic lines kdramas are infamous for, were sort of misplaced and irritating here, like there is some dramatic scene and they are like "you shocked cause I'm so pretty?" Like what?! No! Really frustrating, makes you want to actually get on a plane, fly to Korea, seek the writer and make her take a class on how actual conversations look like.
Also, I admire Park Bo Young a lot, but I'm confused with her character, sometimes she seems reserved, quite and serious and then suddenly Do Bong-Soon appears and she is quirky, funny and flirty/sarcastic - it's a clash of Na Bong Soon and Do Bong Soon (oh my ghost - strong girl bong soon) — or Na bong soon who is possessed — I wished her character would be more consistent, I don't know, maybe I've seen to many shows with her to tell her characters apart.
The other characters aren't even worth to be talked about. Even though some of them get to shine in the last episode, they overall seem more like the first unfinished draft of an idea of a character than a real character, especially Myeol Mang, our 'doom', more like 'handsome-guy-who-is-just there-to-look-cool-and-hold-hands'.
This is a very slow-paced drama, which I did not mind in the beginning but as the story progressed the plot became too dragged with too many unnecessary back-and-forth-scenes; and although everything seemed drawn-out and repetitive and a lot of the screen time was invested in the relationship between the characters, their lengthy dialogues and that damn contract, it still feels like we've only scratched the surface of it all. There are still unanswered questions and plot holes left and even if some passionate viewers –if you've scrolled through the comment section –really try their best to come up with theories and explanations, it cannot hide the fact that this show lacks substance and is not as deep as it pretends to be.
The first three or four episodes and the final ones are nice, but cannot atone for the lacking depth and tedious narrative, this should have been a mini series of 10 to 12 episodes. It was only for PBY and SIG I could carry on with this show, would have honestly dropped it if they had cast other actors.
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