Truly amazed with how an interesting story can be ruined with bad directing.

The plot was there, the twist was there, the emotions should be there, but the storytelling was just a mess. There was close to no introduction to the characters and till the end some of their motivations were simply not explained (why was Yool even loyal to Deok Gi?). Scenes were not concluded in a proper way which led to weird jumps in the characters’ arcs progressions. And don’t even make me start on whatever was going on between Yool and Sul Hee, because that made exactly zero sense and was just a massive waste of screen time.

As I was watching Memories of the Sword I thought “Did they lose some files? This literally feels unfinished, as if there are scenes missing”. You know how at school you wrote essays, used different sources and just wrote all the relevant information in, but after rereading it from the top, you saw how some paragraphs just don’t connect and there is no flow to it? That’s this movie.

The two good aspects were visuals and acting, but that’s barely enough to make me finish the movie. In theory, this movie works. If someone showed me the screenshots and described the plot I would assume it’s an amazing movie… but then, the end product I actually watched was a mess.

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Depending on what kind of drama you want to watch, it can either be a hit or a miss. If you want a nice romance with a plot that (more or less) makes sense, Are You Human Too? will make you happy. If you are a big sci-fi fan and that's the reason you want to watch it - it might not meet your expectations.

THE GOOD

Likable characters with realistic flaws.
The majority of the motivations make sense and we can clearly put ourselves in the characters’ position. Some are better developed than others, but it's something we can't avoid in dramas. As long as the mains are there making sense, I am content. Not to mention how refreshing it was to have so many moraly gray characters.

The romance.
If you like fluff and cute stuff, this will be one of the nicest shows you have seen. I could clearly see the chemistry between leads, and there isn't any unnecessary love triangle. It's hard to describe the growth of emotions in terms of Nam Shin 3, but we can clearly see that in our human protagonist So Bong - how her relationship with NS3 develops and how slowly her feelings change. The acceptance that she loved a robot and not a human was nicely presented.

Cinematography.
Being a person who values the visuals of the dramas, I must say this one was extremely pleasing to the eye.

The emotional aspects.
Basically, this drama is good at 'playing' with your emotions. In a good way. The pacing was fine and they didn't randomly change from sad to funny scenes. Since the characters were gripping, I could easily empathize with them, which made the watching that much more enjoyable.

THE BAD AND LESS CONVINCING

The villains.
I truly loved what they did with Nam Gun Ho. The way he played people around him to be played at the end. That said, the true main bad guy of the drama disappointed me. His motivations did not make much sense. They tried to frame him as a heartless person, but then introduced some scenes clearly showing that he is not as bad as portrayed and even he wants to protect people important to him, so in the end, it wasn't consistent.

The romance.
While for a fluffy part it was amazing, I believe they did not explore the robot-human relationship to the full potential. There are many questions that they never delivered answers to. How will society react to that relationship? Will So Bong be happy with a robot that might never truly love her back? Why had they never talked about getting old and how will they work it out? What will happen to Nam Shin 3 after So Bong dies? Is So Bong going to be okay without any intimate relationship? The relationship was cute, but the social commentary about it could have been deeper.

Real Nam Shin .
How much I loved his character and how much I did not want the writers to give him a quick last minute redemption arc . After all the bad deeds he did, we don't really see much change in his character. Instead of showing us the aftermath of his decisions, we get 'one year later' with Nam Shin being fine and everyone accepting him. No true apology, no reflection on what his choices brought on people he claimed to care about. The writers were so fixated on giving us a happy ending they did not stop for a second to think if it would make much sense.

Ending.
If for you, getting a happy ending is the most important part, you won't be disappointed. If you rather have a bittersweet ending that fits the plot and is consistent with the characters, this might make you angry. The last ten minutes of the drama introduces even more questions than all the preview episodes combined, and gave no answers. We don't know what happens with the majority of side characters. What will happen to M-City? How were the legal aspects resolved? Why only few bad people who broke the law were punished for it? How is society dealing with AI being a real thing? The ending was a big plot hole.

Unresolved moral and social issues.
I would have no problem with drama not dealing with those deeper problems if they weren't introduced in the first place. But they were, so they should be explored more. When the robot is not just a robot? How human the robot must be? Is being conscious enough? Do you need to be able to feel emotions too?
Another EXTREMELY interesting plot point that was not explored at all: is the creator responsible for everything their creation does? If said creation is self conscious, can the creator control all aspects of its life? How far can the free will go? What is free will? The whole sci-fi aspect of the drama, instead of driving drama forward, has been just a plot device created as a background for the romance.

Ignoring the characters’ traits when they are not necessary for the plot and forgiving characters without a reason.
So Bong is a fighter, a really good one. Former athlete, currently bodyguard. And it's all ignored later in the drama. She does not fight, does not defend herself. The whole skill set is simply non existing. Reporter Jo is another character that has no place in the drama. She is suppose to be a funny friend of So Bong, but is she really? She kept getting everyone into trouble, manipulated them and used So Bong for her own profit. The fact that So Bong kept her as a friend till the end is irrational.

Overall, if you are searching for romance driven drama with emotional baggage that is not too heavy, go for it and you will love it. If you want more sci-fi, give it a try for a few episodes, but don't have high expectations. This drama presents many amazing dilemmas, but never explores any of them, and that was the biggest problem I had.

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While other shows that center around youth that are set in high school make me glad I’m not in that age group anymore, Twenty-Five Twenty-One made me wish I was back in my late teens with all the glorious cringe, freedom and passion that represent that age. It also hits you hard with the reality of growing up, making me appreciate the memories I have of my younger self.

I think it’s important to know the title of the drama is more of a destination and not an indication about what the plot will be. Most of it is set when Hee Do is a teenager - last year of high school and the beginning of her 20s. We join her on the journey, as she tries to follow her goals and dreams, builds friendships, experiences sweet victories and bitter loses. She is both mature and innocent with her approach to problems and how she interacts with people. Truly a wonderful female lead that could inspire a lot of younger and older audiences.

Baek Yi Jin perfectly represents the time of our life when we are not quite kids anymore, but we still have a long way to becoming adults. New responsibilities are piling up, and you are slowly learning how to handle them. He was also one of the best male leads in the history of Korean dramas - understanding, supportive, pointing out the mistakes in a mature way, which helped Hee Do grow as a person. Was his selflessness too much? I think it served as a quite well structured flaw that led to many interesting internal and external conflicts he was facing.

He was not perfect, taking steps back when he was overwhelmed by the given situation or unsure of the future results. On the other hand completely immersing himself after he makes a decision to take action - these realistic flaws made him an even greater character.

I think it’s also important to mention how great of a job the writer did with Go Yu Rim’s character. She was quite flawed, self-centered at times, extremely insecure - all that led to many unfortunate moments, making her behave in an awful way. Yet, by the end of the show, the majority of the audience adored her, felt sympathy and wished her happiness.

Not only the main characters, but also the supporting cast did a wonderful job. That said, I find it slightly disappointing how little we got to know both Moon Ji Woong and Ji Seung Wan. I think both of them could present an interesting and unique perspective, but they were not really given the chance to do that. Yes, Seung Wan had a few truly moving and inviting further reflection scenes, but overall, she was mostly pushed to the side lines.

The character that I could not fully understand and root for till the end was Hee Do’s mom, Shin Jae Kyung. I found her striving to be a good journalist and presenter rather one-dimensional and boring. Her reasoning often made little sense and her overall stand on the issue seemed a bit artificial - only existing to create some drama between her and her daughter.

Most of the performances were solid, some truly amazing. I’m surprised how well Kim Tae Ri delivered the role of Na Hee Do. It’s honestly not easy to give a believable performance of a teenage girl by a woman in her 30’. She aced the role and no other actress could do as well as she did.

I’m not the biggest fan of Nam Joo Hyuk, granted it had more to do with the roles he took than his performance. That said, he was born to play the role of Baek Yi Jin. He did great with the duality of the character - mature and protective, but at the same time scared and struggling.

Go Yu Rim’s character and her arc was not an easy task, but Bona did the character justice. Probably one of the characters that evokes the most emotions in all the viewers - be it positive or negative.

The only performance that did not convince me at all was Kim So Hyun as an adult Hee Do. Watching her on screen, she had that theater actress characteristics, so I was not exactly surprised when I found out she is in fact a musical theater actress. Theater and dramas demand a completely different approach, and I am not sure she was able to successfully switch from one to the other. Things needed on stage will work against you in front of the camera.

What a beautiful show it was. My screenshots folder is full of amazing pictures. The pacing was perfect - slow enough for me to have time to appreciate the scenes and dialogues, but fast enough to always keep me entertained. Loved the shots that focused on the details, objects, often hands - they at times served as the guidance of what is the center of the scene and where our focus should be.

The arrangement for the song truly perfectly fits the 90’ and early 00’ sentiment. Being perfectly honest, I am not the biggest fan of the music style from these times, but the show could not have a better list of songs. Wonstein’ Your Existence is probably my favorite song from the drama.

Overall, this is far more than just a romantic comedy. I would say the romance, even though presented throughout the show, is not the focus point. It’s a heartwarming story of finding yourself, fighting for your dreams and convictions, creating meaningful relationships and beautiful memories while slowly facing the reality of adulthood.

If it just concluded on the ending of episode 15. I actually think the last scene from that episode would be the superior and more fitting ending. Where is a white truck of doom when you need it? I’d take one dose of amnesia - please let me forget I’ve seen that last episode. Still, the journey was worth it.

If I had to leave with one last complaint - the whole present times storyline was useless and the drama could do without it.

My explanation for the ending and how for me it makes sense in the comment under the review (hidden for spoilers).

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Purest form of entertainment.

Realism does not exist in the dictionary of the creators, that’s for sure. And it goes beyond the usual fantasy/adventure elements in shows like that. Did it bother me? No. I laughed and joked about it, and moved on. The plot moves so fast, there is no time to think about all the ridiculous aspects.

Tomb of the Sea does a fairly good job establishing characters, their motivations and overall world buildup. You can watch it without any prior knowledge of the series and the prequels, and still enjoy and understand it. It follows quite a few plotlines - Gutong Jing adventure, Wang conspiracy, politics between Nine Clans, and all the small flirty romances. Sounds like a lot, but it's truly not hard to grasp when watching.

The large cast of the characters makes it easy to find someone to relate to, love and, if that's what you fancy, hate. Personally, I adopted Li Cu. At first, my attention was more on Wu Xie, but as the drama progressed, this slightly emo and over the top child stole my heart. Surprisingly, I had a soft spot for Liang Wan - quite flawed, but also a loveable and fun character, which brought a more realistic reaction to all the events unfolding.

One aspect I truly loved about the characters was the realistic portrayal of teenagers. The hero complex, the lack of situation analysis and getting yourself into danger without even taking a second to truly think about the consequences, the over the top and sometimes childish interactions - all of that made me think about the time I was their age and was just as stupid.

For a drama with 52 episodes, it’s surprisingly binge-watchable. The plot moves fast, even if the timeline makes little sense. Word of advice - don’t try to keep up with how much time passed for each side plot, you won’t be able to puzzle it out anyway. You might think just a week has passed, and they fit you with the revelation that it’s been a month or more. They cut off some plot lines to come back to the characters a few episodes later, with me having no idea what they were doing and what happened to them between the events I witnessed. Just go with the flow and don’t question it.

The soundtrack could not be more perfect. Chen Xue Ran’s Song of the Desert became one of my favorite songs in 2021. It was so good, I did not even skip ending credits scenes after each episode, just so I could listen to it.

Overall, it’s a flawed drama - weird plot pacing progression, makeup that can survive sandstorms, cutting plot lines and then coming back to them as if no time passed, and yet, I truly enjoyed it a lot. I also appreciate the death count - nothing more frustrating than when no one dies in a story like that. It would be too Disney for me.

If I had to name one thing that truly bothered me, it was the treatment towards the kids. At times it was simply physical and mental abuse, and it did make me feel uncomfortable at times, especially since the drama never explained why the characters had to be high schoolers. In my eyes, they could have been easily made into young adults, and not much would change plot wise.

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Exploring happiness through hardships.

When the Weather Is Fine is definitely a well crafted piece of cinematic art, but it’s not made for everyone. I don’t mean it in a snobbish, elitist way, it’s just really clear in what it wants to be, and it does not try to cater to all the viewers - you either take it or leave it, both decisions being equally valid.

It’s an extremely slow paced character driven drama that is much darker than it might initially seem. Hardly any of the characters presented does not face serious problems and issues they have to overcome. It does present a few side stories tho, that can brighten the mood, making sure we won’t get depressed after finishing each episode.

The journey we take while the stories unfold might be sad and frustrating, since many of the characters are rather shielded, slowly learning how to open themselves to the possibility of happiness. It’s not a drama to watch for escapism.

Being perfectly honest, till the last episode, I did not find Hae Won to be a likeable person. She points out everyone's flaws, while not taking a step back to see things from other people's perspective herself. The fact she was so flawed, was exactly why I enjoyed the show so much. Each character presented a completely different perspective on life and relationships - each being right and wrong at the same time, depending on the perspective taken by the viewer.

When the Weather Is Fine is an aesthetic feast. All the shots capture that melancholic and slightly removed from reality feeling - making Bookhyun Village feel like its own world, separate from the fast paced reality we live in. The soundtrack added to that sentimental feeling, making a truly cohesive picture.

That said, it’s not a perfect show. The number of flashbacks was surprising, especially since the majority of them were copy-pasted the same, not presenting alternative perspectives or adding to previously presented events. Another aspect that bothered me was the sharp change of mood between scenes - we went from tragedy to teen slice of life comedy in a matter of seconds. In the end, for some scenes, I was neither able to explore the sadness, nor enjoy the silly happiness of what’s presented - it just clashed too much.

Acting wise, almost flawless. I am not sure if I completely bought Park Min Young’s portrayal of Hae Won. Logically speaking her story was full of sadness, yet I could not feel it on many occasions. I knew it was tragic, but I did not feel it.

Overall, I would recommend it to people who like slow paced, character driven shows. If you prefer fast paced plot driven dramas with many unexpected plot twists and thrilling feeling, you will most likely not enjoy it that much. It’s a bittersweet story that allows us to peek into the lives of the characters, without presenting a sharp beginning nor the end.

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Interesting story with poorly written characters

This had some good potential. Even though, technically speaking, it deals with the same old story of corruption in politics, adding the Agency for National Security Planning and (basically) deserted agent made it a bit fresh.

Sadly, the writers were incapable of writing intelligent main characters and villains. At the end, it was not about who outsmarts whom, but who will make more dumb mistakes. There were no winners, rather - bigger losers.

Han Jung Hyun was probably one of the least consistent characters in the history of dramas. Presented as outstanding agent in the past, the future version of him made too many dumb mistakes for me to ever take him seriously. At some point I assumed that the Agency for National Security Planning only teaches and cares about fighting skills, because he barely ever used his brain.

Then we have Im Hyeong Rak, another case of random nerve impulses - turning on and off his brain depending on what the plot needs. Mastermind that was able to cover up all his evil deeds for years… and yet, he cannot predict the most predictable decisions Jung Hyun makes. He overlooks the most obvious course of action. True disappointment.

That said, not all the characters were as bad. Choi Yeon Soo, even if boringly good, was fierce and smart, trying to work, limited by the rules set by corrupted people, to uncover the corruption. Then we have Do Young Geol, who was my favorite character - one of the most entertaining to watch. I wished the writers and director gave a little bit more attention and depth to his slowly growing internal conflict. Big props to the younger cast playing Jung Hyun’s kids - solid performance.

The plot itself could be better. It feels like there weren’t enough hints or clues leading to a “plot twist” to make it interesting, the bad guys were bad, the good guys were good. The guys that were at first good, without solid reasoning turned bad… and I was just sitting in front of my laptop questioning everyone’s motives. There was not enough payoff from any of the plot lines.

Overall, I think the burning frustration I felt while watching was the most entertaining part. The drama could be renamed “Why y’all like that?”. When all the involved parties became aware of each other, and you would have thought the cat and mouse chase would start… The drama ended. The last episode? Anticlimactic would be an understatement.

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One word to describe this show: wholesome.

It was just an easy, fast watch. Distressed me completely, but at the same time, each and every episode got me hyped and excited. I was on the edge of my seat more often than not, even though I know nothing about esports. I'm not a gamer and yet this drama got me focused on all the scenes and I was never bored with the technical talk and in-game fighting scenes.

Best part of the show? The characters. I truly cannot express how much I liked each and every one of them (except Jia Shi's Team Manager, he can go). Ye Xiu is a dream male lead: mature, kind, driven, honest, hard working. Usually, this level of perfection drives me mad, but here I was just appreciating his existence. It would be hard to comment on every character, as the cast is truly massive, but one thing I can say is: with how unique and likable they all were, I'm sure everyone would find someone to relate to, appreciate and root for. Characters that caught my attention the most were Su Mu Cheng (loyal friend, but also a professional player), Huang Shao Tian (the talkative ray of sunshine), Yu Wen Zhou (the warm, supportive and understanding captain) and Wei Chen (the trickster that stole my heart).

That said, even though I loved the cast and the characters, there were some things that bothered me. One was Chen Guo and the fact, at some point, her constant mistakes made it hard for me to like her (even though by the end of the show I could clearly see how she fits into the picture perfectly). Another was a last minute redemption arc for one of the supporting characters. There was no character development done on screen to validate that.

Some people might feel overwhelmed by the number of characters showing up. I'm not lying when I say new faces were introduced every other episode almost till the end of the show. Everyone often wearing the teams' uniforms helps to distinguish who comes from where, but it still might be a bit too much for people who struggle with large casts.

The plot is simple: a path to glory. We follow Yu Xiu rebuilding his gaming character as he creates his own team and tries to fight his way back to the top of gaming league. While there is little to no development done on the male lead (he truly does not need it), he plays a crucial role in slow changes and the development of his team members. It was amazingly pleasing to watch them learn how to be a team, work together and support each other both in and outside of the game.

What's more to love? I have to applaud the effects in the drama. The game looks amazing. Not being a gamer, I would still love to play it. Even though it was not exactly realistic (the angles shown on the monitors would actually make it harder to play the game and the range of actions the characters could do was also "over the top"), it gave an amazing fantasy cinematic feel. If you ask me, I would love to watch a whole animated show about these game characters and their adventures.

I loved it so much, why not 10/10 rating then?
I had exactly 2 problems with this show. First was the ending. I know for a fact that the majority of people loved it and for those that will watch the show: will love it. Sadly, I am not one of them. It's hard to explain my reasoning, but the twist at the end, even though it made the drama even more wholesome and feel-good, stripped the show from a bit of the additional depth that the "original" ending brought.

Another aspect that made me lower the rating were episodes 32 to 35. I have no idea what happened. I know that the show needed some kind of breaking point and shift in dynamics, but the way they went about it just felt wrong. We saw the characters and their amazing development, just to see them back to their old selves for the duration of these episodes.

Overall, the show is great. The 40 episodes felt way too short, and I would love to see 40 more. I cannot wait for season two, hoping they will keep at least the majority if not all the original cast. The pacing was perfect, as I was focused the whole time I was watching, never feeling bored. The whole gaming industry in The King's Avatar felt like squad goals that I just wished to be a part of.

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It’s hard for me to be objective with the review since I know the whole story as I have seen the Korean version. That said, I do believe this show executed it better.

At first I was not sold on the cast. I loved Namtan as Mind, but could not get into her acting as Mean. Luckily, I got on board in later episodes. I also felt like Krist is a bit too old to play a high schooler, but again, got used to him as I watched more episodes. They both did an amazing job in conveying all the emotions and bringing these characters to life. For sure I liked Kay and his portrayal of Gun more than Sungjae’s performance. Jan did a stunning job as Tida. I hated her quite a lot, but still felt slightly bad when things started going against her wishes.

I think the only problem I had with this version was that I did not care about the romance at all. I much rather watch the friendship blooming and skip any romance altogether. While the guys looked truly in love with Mind, I could not feel the same emotions from her. I saw she liked them and felt a lot of gratitude towards them, but the romantic feeling was not there for me.

The plot is for sure intriguing, but not exactly on the realistic side. Did it bother me? No. It was cohesive and exciting. I can imagine how nerve wracking it must be for someone who has not seen the Korean version. The anxiety that keeps one on the edge of the seat every time Mind almost gets caught. I almost wished I had never seen the Korean version to appreciate this one more.

The leading premise of the show is clearly - bullying is wrong. That said, I appreciate how many times the “kids/teenagers” made exactly the same mistakes, judged each other before even trying to find out the truth, called each other names and blamed each other without proof. It made the message more realistic. Many young people claim they would never partake in bullying, but they are… They just think their reasons for it are valid and the person deserves it. It’s not easy to change and it’s not easy to see faults in your own actions.

Overall, I would for sure recommend this over the Korean version. It's produced with less over the top style and is more grounded in reality. The characters are more likable too. The only thing that drove me mad were these long af bangs Mind/Mean had. Poor girl, my eyes hurt every time I looked at her.

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I don't know man.

I wasn't really feeling the movie at the beginning. Everything seemed confusing, especially the relationship between the main characters. But that was more or less my fault, I wasn't paying that much attention.

The movie kind of plays in front of you, nothing happens, but you are still watching. The plot is the relationship... but not like in rom-coms when there are lots of things happening around the main couple. Here... almost nothing happens. And yet you keep watching.

I don't know what to tell you. It's literally a portrayal of the different stages of a relationship between two normal people. It's life. The characters make you frustrated, confused, and happy. Then the ending and post credit scenes make you cry an ocean of tears. Good stuff.

Weirdly enough... I kind of want to rewatch it…

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Hyun Bin as a con artist… could I have asked for more? I cannot lie, I had problems focusing while watching some scenes, simply because Hyun Bin looked too stunning.

Truth to be told, I am a big fan of con movies and because of that, it's not that hard to please me, I'll buy everything. That said, I believe there are more or less three types of con movies:
~ "complex con story that just clicks by the end and makes everything clear"
~ "complex and unrealistic con story that is just a pure entertainment"
~ bad con movies
This movie fits perfectly into the first category. The moment you think you understand what is going on and what are the motivations behind all the characters, it twists it all... many times. It also has my favorite element: con artists conning other con artists. This allows me to not feel guilt towards whoever gets screwed and just enjoy the ride.

The movie had my blood boiling a few times, got me to laugh at times; overall, definitely evoked some emotional reaction. It ended on a satisfying note too. The performance of the cast was extremely good, especially from Hyun Bin, Yoo Ji Tae and Park Sung Woong, which should not be surprising. There were quite a few plot twists I did not predict, and some I was happy that happened.

The plot is not some grand scheme that involves x number of important characters. It's kept local, with a smaller cast, but rather than making this less spectacular, it gives this feeling of a bit more realism (if we even can talk about levels of realism with con artist movies) which helped me get more involved in the story.

To summarize, everything is a lie in this movie and everyone is conning everyone. And I enjoyed it a lot.

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So like... nothing really happened.

Or rather, a lot happened, but no one truly reacted to it in any way. It's not like this show has been free of the usual over the top tropes. It's just the characters had little to no reaction to them compared to other series.

When I started watching, I was ready for the cute, sweet, unproblematic slower romance, and at the beginning it was more or less just that. Then, they added so many random plot lines to make it more "entertaining/dramatic", but everyone just reacted to them in such an unnatural way, I could not connect to it at all.

That said, Solo is my baby boy. I truly love this kid. He was adorable and, as far as I know, Nut did the best job acting wise. The rest of the cast was meh. I skipped all the doctor and Kim’s scenes. That whole plot line was a true mess. I know many people loved Kao and Phuri, but again... I didn't care that much. They just felt awkward most of the time.

I don't even want to talk about that Disney ending, that made the whole second half of the show a joke. All the characters did 180 as if they were different people, because resolving conflicts in a well written manner apparently is not the writer's thing.

The music was nice though. But this ain't Spotify, I need me some good plot behind that soundtrack.

Overall... the show was so meh and boring I have barely any thoughts about it. The last episode was tragically bad, and even though it gave us a cute ending, logically speaking it made no sense. Solo and Gui were cute and I truly suffered throughout this just for them.

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The genres that are not quite fitting.

Honestly speaking, this is far more of a comedy drama, and I don’t see many thriller elements in it. The poster presents what the mood of the movie will be far more than the genres listed, so take that into consideration when watching.

I have to say, it’s been a while since a movie made me so excited to watch. I was interested in the characters, in the court case, in the truth behind the case. Each element was so well written and constructed, and intertwined into the overall plot, there wasn’t a second wasted of the screen time.

The movie seems like a low key battlefield between the professional judge who forgot the core aspect of her work and a Juror 8, who got himself involved in the case and now simply wants to do a good job with it.

The aspect I enjoyed the most was the character development and clever ways they indicated how and when specific Juror’s started to be more engaged in the case. Especially Choi Yeong Jae, with whom they did a brilliant job.

The acting was amazing. Not surprised with a cast like that. Having great and well established actors playing supporting, and even guest roles made each scene truly enjoyable. Big props to Seo Hyun Woo, even though he did not have that much screen time, his depiction of the defendant was stellar.

Is the movie realistic? Definitely not. I do believe the comedic leaning makes it okay though. It still presents the importance of the job jury has, the potential issues in the system, but also the benefits it might bring, while adding a lot of entertainment with the exaggerated scenarios.

On the other hand, saying it’s even loosely based on the original story is nothing but misleading. The cases are nothing alike, the result is not the same, the behavior of the jury is completely different. It especially bothered me with the last narration on the screen, where they mixed the events of the show with real life statistics - it was simply confusing. Before I did some research, I was sure that part describes the real life case from 2008, which was not correct. Hence I’m not sure selling it even to that extent as being related to real events was a wise choice.

Overall, extremely exciting, interesting and engaging. Has some amazing situational comedy, but does not forget to have good content behind the jokes.

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Saving the human race at the cost of humanity.

Rather than a destination, The Silent Sea served me a direction with countless possibilities and roads to follow. The questions have been asked, and it’s on me to answer them for myself.

Personally speaking, I like the shows that do not tell me everything, so I can dwell on the issues myself. Which decisions were correct, which were selfish, which showed humanity and which made the character greedy - The Silent Sea leaves enough room for me to decide on my own.

The dire reality of Earth’s water supply slowly ending was quite a nice and more realistic take on a potential dystopian scenario we might face. Showing us some details on how the nations work around the problem, the inequality in water distribution - both in the case of the quantity, but also quality of water, all that created a cohesive setting that made the mission seem justified, and the risk worth taking. The more I believe the setting, the less I question life-risking decisions the characters are making.

The Silent Sea tackles the topics of social inequality, distribution of necessary resources, corporate greed and misguided decisions that were made in hopes of bettering the lives of others. How far can we go to save the human race? Are we willing to give up humanity in the process? Should we focus on the struggles of individuals when we need to save the collective? But what is collective if not a group of individuals?

Another aspect that I greatly appreciated was the contrast between the individual goals and needs of the crew and the worsening situation on the Earth. On one hand, the contrast might make the personal issues trivial, on the other hand, it showed how important it is to consider these small, seemingly insignificant issues, as they might help us make morally sound decisions.

Moving to the cast and the performances - could we ask for me? Probably not. Bae Doona and Gong Yoo truly aced their roles, presenting all the emotions and dilemmas in the most realistic and subtle way possible. All the supporting cast did their best in bringing these characters to life, and they succeeded. Big props to Lee Joon who moved on from the meme English line “you shouldn’t do that” to the whole English dialogues (obscure references only A+ would know). His performance was for sure one that surprised me the most.

Adding to the value of the show, we’ve got some aesthetic feast. The color contrast between the warm yellow tones on Earth, and cold blue shades on the moon, the space shots, the use of light and shadows - all creating a number of beautiful pictures.

While the scenes taking place on either Earth or artificial gravity were amazing, all the physics in the rest, at times felt… oof. The movement of actors in zero gravity was an obvious wire work that took away from the realism. Some CGI could have either been improved, or the scene completely removed (was that fake lion truly necessary?).

Talking about science… just try not to think about it too hard, especially closer to the ending.

Overall, I appreciated how they did not slam me in the face with the answers, but left enough info in for me to puzzle it all together. Some twists were easier to predict than others (some could have been seen from miles away), but I was highly entertained from the beginning till the end. It’s slow at times, not action packed, but that’s the type of shows I appreciate the most.

There is also one aspect of the plot that made me quite “happy”, but since it is a spoiler, I will talk about it in the comment under the review.

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When you feel like a plot twist is the whole plot of a show.

Let’s start with the setup: When a drama incorporates sci-fi, but does not commit to it. Was I slightly frustrated that time travel was never really explained and no one even tried to ask questions about it? Yes. At the same time, it might be better not to talk about it, if the alternative is us getting some explanation that wouldn’t make any sense. At the end of the day, sci-fi was not the main genre, but rather a tool to introduce main plot and mystery. Not explaining all the rules of “reset” was a perfect way to keep viewers on the edge of their seat, trying to figure it out themelves.

What this drama did well was caring for all the characters. While Hyung Jo, Ga Hyun and Lee Shin might be the mains, we also got enough background information and screen time to know and care about the supporting cast. What are their motivations, why they do what they do and where does it lead them. We’ve got the answers for it all.

It might take a while to get used to the fast pace and countless plot twists, but once you dive deep into the style and storytelling, it's hard to get out. Questioning each and every characters’ motives and actions, trying to figure out who is the mastermind behind it all. There are definitely a lot of aspects that make the viewer interested in the story and engaged in what is happening.

Sadly… the plot twists became too much. At some point I stopped being excited for and curious about them, but rather frustrated. Oh… we get another one? Cool. How about you chill a bit? There was no point in me trying to puzzle out the plot when the whole picture changed every few minutes. The last three episodes I just wanted to finally find out what is going on and be done.

I was also hoping for some cohesive one big picture created by all the plot lines, but I felt like the two main ones went a bit separate ways.

Overall, it was an exciting ride with a little bit too many plot twists for me liking. Would enjoy it more if I binge watched it. Watching just 2 episodes per week killed the hype. It was a tough beginning and the ending, but the middle part was truly good.

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Hit pause on the turning point.

This movie is a gentle reminder that it’s okay to just take a moment to breathe and figure yourself out - be it a day, month or a year. There is no point in chasing after things that do not bring you peace and happiness. Yes, you still need to deal with your responsibilities, you need an income to support yourself financially, but that does not mean you need to desire and want what everyone else strives for. We are all different, with different motivations and needs. One person enjoys a fast paced environment, someone else needs more calmness in their surroundings. There are no right and wrong answers in how to live your life, as long as you are not hurting others.

And that’s basically what the movie is about - Hye Won putting her life on pause as she tries to figure out what she truly wants, and if the goal she was trying to reach so far is what she truly desires. She reconnects to her roots, reignites her old friendships and slowly learns about her mother’s decisions in the past - understanding things she was not able to understand when she was younger.

What Little Forest offers is comfort and warmth. Beautiful scenery and amazing short cooking scenes. A message that simple life is meaningful. That making amends with your past is the way to move forward, even if it means starting from the beginning.

Additionally, we get an amazing cast delivering perfect performances. Honestly speaking, the movie is Kim Tae Ri’s, and Kim Tae Ri’s only. She carries the whole film. She fits the rural slice of life genre so well, I would have no issue watching a full 16 episodes show based on Little Forest.

Overall, big recommendation for anyone who loves a calming slice of life content with few cooking scenes that will make you hungry.

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