Countryside Vibes, Formula 1 Finale.
I loved this show. It had everything I usually enjoy in a Chinese drama, every character got their moment to shine, the countryside visuals were absolutely gorgeous, and the leads delivered some really solid performances. At its heart, it's a simple coming-of-age story about kids growing up, stepping into adulthood, and chasing their dreams, and it does that beautifully.Now, my only issue the last five episodes looked like they suddenly remembered they had a deadline. The pacing went from a peaceful countryside stroll to a Formula 1.
The reunion was a bit underwhelming too the expressions were so flat that I wasn't sure if they were reuniting after years apart or just bumping into each other at a grocery store.
Would that have bothered me normally? Probably not. But then they proceeded to speedrun the entire ending in the last three episodes, and unfortunately, I took that personally.
Still, it's a genuinely great show and absolutely worth watching. I'm just forever mourning the pacing.
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I can make a better horror story around a wet wipe
I've sat through some proper garbage horror, but at least those movies tried to explain where the damn spirits came from. This one just gave a sketchy ah grandma for that.It's like the director looked at the script and said 'backstory? Flashbacks? Plot? Nah, too much work.' Half the movie is just random spooky shit happening with zero explanation and the rest is people dying.
The lead looks terrified of water but there is no explanation whatsoever. None of the characters had any character. From the first scene I knew all of them were dying in the most mid ways possible.
Easily one of the most personality-less horror movies I've ever seen. I have nothing to look forward to, but I really hope they explain stuff in the to be continued part.
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SHOULD HAVE LET HER GO TO SANTIAGO ALONE
The start of the drama raised my expectations high but the last few minutes were beyond me. Apart from that it was overall a good one. The first impulse on seeing the show is to compare it with the soundtrack 1 but that would not do justice to this one. That soundtrack had a different universe this one has a different one. Maybe it was the fear of this comparison only that the writers and the directors tried to give this one a haphazard happy ending.The beginning really served the ex-lovers troupe where the two leads meet again after a long time with their changed situations. Everything was amazing honestly the characters, the emotions, the setup everything. Especially the chemistry between the leads goodness I wonder what a good execution could have brought out of the gem of this chemistry.
The plot development tried to show how just getting back together is not the endgame for the leads and even if they do get together the breaking apart can happen again if there is no clarity on the character's part about what they did and why they did what they did and what do they want. However, they did not answer any of it they did not even show the female lead side of the story of why they broke up in the past properly.
Also, there was no need to put that poor second male lead i mean the lead characters already had enough of their problems to work on and I don't think either of them cared about poor K. (I didn't even feel bad for him. He was very extra.)
The last fifteen minutes did not make a single sense to me, everything was so rushed I wondered if I skipped something important.
it's not important to give a happy ending, where the leads always end up together to make a good drama.
Personally, I would have felt much better if she had gone to Santiago all alone and discovered herself even if that meant them not ending up together. Her just accepting the male leads company on her Santiago trip defeats the whole point of going there since she wanted to learn about herself and love things just the way they are without letting her inferiority come in between. It was so very unsettling.
Like what's the point of sending her on a trip, closing the shop and breaking up again if that's how they were going to end it, she could have just done that in Korea only why spend so much money. A trip like that will not help her.
I think I took this a little personally but was kinda self-destructive and contradictory.
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Finally, the Adults Did Their Job
One thing I really liked about this drama is that for once, the students weren't left to fight everything on their own. In most school-action bullying/crime theme dramas, the adults are either useless, corrupt, or conveniently absent. At best, you get that one poor righteous teacher trying to save the day. Here, the system actually decided to do its job.Honestly, if I were Minister of Education, I'd be taking notes. The stakes feel real, but it never forgets that it's supposed to be fun to watch. The story handled multiple issues very well be it bad teachers, bad parents or bad kids. No one is saint and this 360 degree portrayal of the education system feels genuine.
I haven't read the webtoon, so I can't compare, but as a standalone, it was good work.
The cast was great (the high school kids looked a little old for high school but makes sense). The action scenes were solid, and overall, it was great.
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