Tbh the final episode had ONE really wholesome scene that sort-of resembled the vibe of season 1 and...that's pretty much it. (y'know which scene I'm talkin about)
Tbh the good scenes only further make me feel like, damn it does have the potential to be as good as (the first 3/4 of) season 1, but that potential was completely wasted.
And yeah Jeok-Bong is just filler. The actor is capable of so much more and this is the kinda script he has to deal with...oof
That final episode climax is one of the worst climaxes I’ve ever seen in Kdrama…the writers couldn’t even write a hostage situation properly lol. There’s no tension, it was super unrealistic and people act without common sense. Hostage taker’s knife is like 1m away from the hostage and no one shot him even though there was no danger of muscle spasm which may harm the hostage. Usually when the hostage taker is super close to the hostage, you really need to worry about that, but here, bro is SUPER far away, just shoot him?? The entire police department STOOD there waiting for the villain to give a speech, WTF?
ML, supposedly the smartest genius in the show, had a chance to just…run. Yeah he ran alright…TOWARDS the villain who had a KNIFE. At this point, when everyone acts this stupidly, your suspension of disbelief and copium just run out. I don’t even feel bad that ML got injured. Everything was so badly written and dumb
Currently watching “the big 3” ( King The Land, See you in my 19th life and Revenant ). They’re all good but if I want one that simply warms my heart and makes me wholeheartedly smile, it has to be King The Land. It’s like a nice hot meal that makes your day better. Is it flawed? Absolutely, but every time I watch it, it makes my heart feel fluffy and happy y’know what I mean? It doesn’t have Revenant and 19th Life’s darkness and intensity, it just makes you feel good. Which is exactly what a romcom should do. For me, I’m way more invested in this compared to Business Proposal ( hot take ). Yoona and Jun-Ho just have this innocent and adorable chemistry that makes you wanna keep watching.
Is the show as the kids say, kinda “normie”? Maybe. But not everything has to be dark and intense. Sometimes it’s okay to take a step back and…chill. This show is great for exactly that.
Oh man the Chekhov’s Gun with the “bad things are gonna happen” really made enjoying the casual scenes very difficult because you have no idea when that gun will fire…and that episode 8 twist? Bro my heart can’t take it…
(inhales another dose of King The Land to calm myself down)
edit: Episode 8 hit me with a literal train of depression, I didn’t expect this when I started this show lol
FINALLY finished watching episode 39-40! ( Thank god I know Chinese so I don‘t have to rely on Youku english subs lol )
It’s absolutely fantastic. It‘s actually better than the book, which I read in *one go*. The ending is so beautiful that I’m gonna rewatch it a few more times. At this point, I think even the people that thought “the show went downhill after ep 15” are impressed. It is really that good.
At this point I‘d argue that Back From The Brink is better than both LBFAD and TTEOTM. Yes, the CGI is much worse than higher-budget shows. I think everyone can agree on that. However, everything else felt like a massive improvement. Even bad CGI can become a powerful and effective weapon in the hands of a great storyteller. Despite the lackluster CGI, I would rewatch THIS, multiple times, before I rewatch the other shows.
10/10, easy top-10 list entry, would rewatch multiple times.
Despite episode 7-8 being kinda meh, overall I still enjoyed it. That plaza fight tho? God damn that was good. I haven’t held my breath like this watching a fight scene since…Vagabond?
Also, super small nitpick…Do Bae-Man not giving Yeong Mun-Gu the final forehead-flick is a missed opportunity. I know I know, this is a very petty nitpick but it would’ve been cool no?
Just finished the entire show, I don’t see why this is only 8.4/10, it deserves WAY HIGHER. I also don’t understand…
Noh Tae Nam’s character development in particular was incredible. I didn’t expect to like him at all and it did take quite a while, but he became a much better person and was actually likeable by the end. Another thing I want to mention that might be a spoiler is that, after reading all of the reviews, I was pessimistic about how the romance plot-line was resolved and while watching, I thought they had AMAZING chemistry and I was really worried that they’re not gonna end it properly like the comments said. I was holding onto my hopium and copium so hard and thank god…
Just finished the entire show, I don’t see why this is only 8.4/10, it deserves WAY HIGHER. I also don’t understand why some people are like, “oh last few episodes are predictable meh” because I was extremely emotionally invested and episode 14 was absolutely fantastic. Yes, some plot “twists” were obvious but it doesn’t stop the show from being good. Every single plot line gets resolved in a satisfying manner.
Had to read the entire novel after ep 31 in <7 hours to know more about what happens next…and wow, so many things are different from the show. The characters, the story, the fights, even the powers are different. YH becomes very powerful here (didn’t happen in the novel), Pu Fang’s character was changed a bit in the show ( for the better, actually ), there were quite a few cool fights in the novel that I’d love to see in the show but probably won’t see ( e.g. YH fight inside the active volcano ).
However, we’re getting something much spicier in the show rn (if you’ve seen the previews, you know) and it kinda reminds me of The Journey of Flower ( final few episodes ) and I LOVE it. I can’t wait to see what happens next, this is exactly my cup of tea. YH is finally a force to be reckoned with, (similar to Hua Qian-Gu in Journey of Flower) to be honest I don’t see how we reach the novel ending at this rate, I think it will deviate or it’s completely different. The original novel ending is nicely written but I would love if the show ends differently. At this point I can’t predict what happens next based on the novel because we’re entering completely new territory due to YH lol.
None of these mentions romance. I guess there's not much of it to make an impression. I probably won't watch it…
The romance is pretty good actually, Lee Sung-Kyung and Ahn Hyo-Seop have great chemistry but above all is the medical accuracy, the sheer tension during surgeries, etc. It's a great show, you're missing out.
As much as I hate to say it, even though the story for 2nd half of season 1 was slightly off, that screenwriter did an amazing job with the fight scenes. You can feel how gritty and brutal every single punch is, it’s exhilarating to watch, resulting in some of the best fight scenes I’ve ever seen (e.g. UVG fight in the dark, the private prison fight, rescuing Go-eun, etc) The choreography was good-tier. This season on the other hand, I expected a lot from the episode 15-16 fights and they were just…okay? It didn’t give me the goosebumps like the season 1 fights did. Maybe the season 1 (2nd half) screenwriter is just a god at writing fight scenes in particular? Honorable mention: Kim So-Yeon was such a badass at the end, I hope she returns in season 3. I expected a bit more from the Moon Chaewon cameo though.
To those complaining about her being able to fight too quickly, um, there are only 2 options if you start with "badass assassin regains memories" trope.
1. She regains memories, remembers the combat techniques and muscle memory is retained, so she instantly becomes a badass ( Is it unrealistic? Yeah. Is it cool and satisfying to watch? Also yeah. )
2. She regains memories, but due to lack of physical training her body is weak and despite knowing how to fight, she can't fight at all. Might be able to pull off a few tricks here and there but against any professional, she just loses instantly. She can't protect her family at all. ( Realistic but do you wanna watch that though? )
Honestly after AOS S2 I just wanna see some badass FL action and surprising everyone around her, despite the fact that it is slightly unrealistic.
Tbh the good scenes only further make me feel like, damn it does have the potential to be as good as (the first 3/4 of) season 1, but that potential was completely wasted.
And yeah Jeok-Bong is just filler. The actor is capable of so much more and this is the kinda script he has to deal with...oof
IMO the writers eliminated the path of redemption for the guy by making him do that and it’s a damn shame
ML, supposedly the smartest genius in the show, had a chance to just…run. Yeah he ran alright…TOWARDS the villain who had a KNIFE. At this point, when everyone acts this stupidly, your suspension of disbelief and copium just run out. I don’t even feel bad that ML got injured. Everything was so badly written and dumb
Is the show as the kids say, kinda “normie”? Maybe. But not everything has to be dark and intense. Sometimes it’s okay to take a step back and…chill. This show is great for exactly that.
(inhales another dose of King The Land to calm myself down)
edit: Episode 8 hit me with a literal train of depression, I didn’t expect this when I started this show lol
It’s absolutely fantastic. It‘s actually better than the book, which I read in *one go*. The ending is so beautiful that I’m gonna rewatch it a few more times. At this point, I think even the people that thought “the show went downhill after ep 15” are impressed. It is really that good.
At this point I‘d argue that Back From The Brink is better than both LBFAD and TTEOTM. Yes, the CGI is much worse than higher-budget shows. I think everyone can agree on that. However, everything else felt like a massive improvement. Even bad CGI can become a powerful and effective weapon in the hands of a great storyteller. Despite the lackluster CGI, I would rewatch THIS, multiple times, before I rewatch the other shows.
10/10, easy top-10 list entry, would rewatch multiple times.
“Let me offer you a proposal you can’t refuse.”
It’s complete, I’m very happy and satisfied. XD
However, we’re getting something much spicier in the show rn (if you’ve seen the previews, you know) and it kinda reminds me of The Journey of Flower ( final few episodes ) and I LOVE it. I can’t wait to see what happens next, this is exactly my cup of tea. YH is finally a force to be reckoned with, (similar to Hua Qian-Gu in Journey of Flower) to be honest I don’t see how we reach the novel ending at this rate, I think it will deviate or it’s completely different. The original novel ending is nicely written but I would love if the show ends differently. At this point I can’t predict what happens next based on the novel because we’re entering completely new territory due to YH lol.
1. She regains memories, remembers the combat techniques and muscle memory is retained, so she instantly becomes a badass ( Is it unrealistic? Yeah. Is it cool and satisfying to watch? Also yeah. )
2. She regains memories, but due to lack of physical training her body is weak and despite knowing how to fight, she can't fight at all. Might be able to pull off a few tricks here and there but against any professional, she just loses instantly. She can't protect her family at all. ( Realistic but do you wanna watch that though? )
Honestly after AOS S2 I just wanna see some badass FL action and surprising everyone around her, despite the fact that it is slightly unrealistic.