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EXchange Season 2 korean drama review
Completed
EXchange Season 2
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Oct 31, 2022
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Fluctuating quality…

It’s honestly hard to judge this show. I liked some parts, I was bored with others.

Starting with contestants - on one hand I appreciate how distinctive everyone’s personality and style was. It was easy to remember everyone from their first introduction and not get people mixed up. Because many of them were so drastically different, the interactions were that much more fun and interesting to watch.

At the same time, because everyone was rather far on the unique side, they truly did not feel like your everyday people, but rather high profile influencers (which some of them were, and most had some entertainment connections). The thing that is enjoyable for me in dating shows is the fact these are normal people and not celebrities… But here, the line felt blurred.

That end result was rather predictable. I was not shocked or surprised by anyone’s choices. Did it bother me? No. I know some people did not like the predictability of the show, but I honestly don’t know what they expected. These are real people, they won’t change their mind just to deliver a plot twist. It would make no sense to randomly pick someone else, and not the person you spent most time with and had some type of chemistry with.

About the hosts - while I loved the 4 main ones and Bambam fitted into that picture perfectly, I am kind of disappointed how little screen time test rest had. I questioned what was the point of even having them there, when they barely shared their opinion and just reacted to what the main panelists were saying.

For the length of the episodes - 2-3 hours long ones never felt like too much. Granted, I did skip scenes and interactions between people I did not care about, so that might be the reason why the length did not bother me much. Even with that, I still believe it’s better to show more than less with dating shows like that. The level of enjoyment depends on how much the viewers will feel like they know these people and connect to them emotionally. If you skip all the build up, and only show the highlights, it will all feel scripted and unnatural.

Overall, it was fun. I thought kdramas made me have high standards in men, but then Jung Hyun Gyu happened and he is just a walking perfection.
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