Not as compelling for me as the original Sweet Home

I really loved the original Sweet Home even though I normally cannot bear gore and horror. It turned out to be more about humanity, at both its best and worst. I found myself really moved by the relationships forged in that microcosm of the apartment building. Sweet Home 2, however, was too diffuse for me. Too many characters in general to do justice to in merely 8 episodes, too many uninteresting or off-putting characters and storylines, and just not enough of the human relationships that made the first Sweet Home so special for me. Perhaps more episodes might have done justice to the more compelling elements - for example, what happened to Hyun-Su, Eun-Yu, Yi-Kyung, Eui-Myeong, some of the key soldiers, and even that twisted Dr. Lim. It was a missed opportunity.

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More makjang than expected

I read the webtoon, which was rather funny, so I was quite surprised by how makjang this drama adaptation turned out to be. Much of it seems to due to the choices made by the writer and director. It took too long for the female characters to grow backbones. Na In Woo, whom I find acceptable, could have done much better. The best actor definitely was Song Ha Yoon, who portrayed Jeong Su Min. She did a fantastic job of realizing the twistedness of the character. I also preferred the webtoon's treatment of the villains' outcome, as well as the webtoon's depictions of Jihyuk's family. Overall, the adaptation lacked the lightness that balanced out the crazy in the webtoon, a balance that I really appreciated. So watch this knowing that it'll be makjang with unnecessary additions to/deviations from the webtoon storyline, when the original storyline would have been just fine.

AND one more thing. What is with Jiwon's work outfits? An off-shoulder getup to work? A bustier to work? Is she going to a fancy dinner at a luxury hotel or coming into work at a big conglomerate with a fairly traditional corporate culture? Her outfits were such distractions.

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