demontaerae

plot with no stakes, no real consequences

it was cute and fun but if you’re looking for a serious story and/or a serious romance, this isn’t it. it’s one of those shows you watch in between shows that you’re waiting for.

lots of plot twists that didn’t make sense, hard to follow what the actual rules are and what the stakes are, if any. i was so ??? that kang siyeol’s grandma was in ONE episode after the switch and then never again lol weird ass plot device that could’ve had more meaning but whatevs.

the chemistry was there, but i didn’t believe they were all in for each other. when there are rarely any stakes, even dying isn’t that permanent, then it’s hard for me to see strength in their connection. all the actors were great, but the roles they played didn’t have enough depth in their writing or directing.

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boycott ~ why is he still allowed to work

after that pathetic press conference with his fake tears and bullshit, ksh is still allowed to work in this industry. it’s vile and disgusting that he still gets awarded with opportunities after everything he’s done to ruin a woman’s life and career. many actors and actresses have been ostracized from the industry for LESS than he’s been accused of, have some fucking shame. anything he’s involved with will get a boycott from me, idgaf who’s in the movie with him, they all deserve whatever criticism they get for releasing this and supporting his employment.

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i would die for this kind of love story ?

rewatch value 100%

all the characters are well written and quirky in their own typical kdrama way i literally GUFFAWED at each episode and cried hard and loved deeply

soundtrack is BOMB ASF where is the petition for eclipse to be a real kband 🫵🏼

im sol x ryu sunjae is the new romeo & juliet the it couple who would die for each other i stan hard and the actors deserved all the awards praise and recognition from it 💕

i also love men who were written by women and i love wooseok’s portrayal of sunjae. he has his moments of insecurity but he shows sunjae’s bright and dedicated personality very well!! and hyeyoon perfectly encapsulates the essence of sunshine and loyalty through sol 💝

i already can’t wait to watch it and experience it again ☺️

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messy romance - intended audience: the rich

you will NOT catch me feeling sorry for a chaebol heir, legitimate or not !

overall there are some parts i liked but majority of it was a miss for me. i understand that huiju lacked the most important thing about their fantasy monarchy society, which is the status, but if you take it away, she is still RICH ASF! the stakes are low as hell. even without any titles, she can still be immensely successful on her own (which she is) and can still benefit from her family’s money (which she definitely does.) there’s not that much to gain in marrying the crown prince in the first place, so the plot was loose and uninspiring. like poor ppl exist in this monarchy brah 😬 i think it would’ve been more impactful if huiju came from literally nothing and helped i-an dismantle the monarchy bc she knows how ineffective title and status is when she is at the bottom of the barrel in both status and property, but that’s just me !

there were some inconsistencies as well:
- huiju is crass and bold and upfront bc of her having to fight for recognition amongst rumors of her illegitimacy (but be so fr why would u still care abt that past high school lol) so her personality is strong and she does whatever she wants / YET she gets flustered by i-an and during talks of producing an heir🙄 she doesn’t seem the type of be off-put by a passionate kiss lol why are we painting her this way??
- i-an was bold and mischeivous in the beginning and how he was introduced to us / BUT he is still a stickler for the rules as a royal. like pick one? lol
- WHAT was the point of making jeongwoo the sweet childhood friend who had a crush on huiju only to subvert that trope and make him a fucking murderer 😭 if he wasn’t trying to kill people, he would’ve been the top choice as huiju’s love interest and i think that’s why they randomly decided to nuke him LMAO. i was definitely rooting for him bc he seemed more likable than i-an. i did appreciate the styling choices (wearing black) after he “committed” to his villain arc lol

i also didn’t really vibe w huiju. aside from being insanely rich, she was just bratty and always yelling at people who were under her, which—i’m all for girlboss shit but why make her insufferable? huiju wants to take advantage of the royal title because she knows how important it is in this society but she’s also perpetuating the class divide at the same time, using her status being part of a conglomerate family—whether illegitimate or not, you could be the legitimate daughter of a laundromat keeper and it would NOT be better lmfao

also lowkey hated the two secretaries getting together lmfao. the romance and silly awkward scenes was cute but they did NOT need to be together imo lol

anyway, i do love the cast individually (wooseok is my kdrama bias if you will) and i love iu, and i have newfound interest in steven noh and seungyeon but this was just… idk chaebol slop idk how to describe it. like only rich ppl would enjoy stuff like this i guess idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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they really tried

they really tried to make me feel sorry for a rich conglomerate family 😹😹😹😹

soundtrack was top notch 🙂‍↕️
storyline was cray but made sense as a whole in kdrama terms lol but i do feel like they kind of left off the exiled son plot and randomly patched it up in the last ep ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the ending was beautiful i joked they would do an “up” montage and they lowkey did 😅 i wish they added more to the losing a child plot bc i feel like it would’ve been more powerful in terms of why they were slowly drifting instead of instances here and there to remind us that it happened. losing a brother and losing a child must’ve been hard for haein and i would’ve loved to see the complexity in that, especially since she was also sick herself.

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started out great

love their friendship but i hate how they act like they’ve never kissed a person before when they share those intimate moments JEBAL you are 33…

first half was super good and i enjoyed the drama building up and even the supporting characters’ budding romance with the kid but i took a break for like 4 months bc i didn’t care to finish the last 4 episodes 😅

it just wasn’t giving at a certain point… like the ex-boyfriend coming to take her back was so random and i feel like no one really took her illness that seriously… and the mom losing her memories or whatever HELLO this random ass side plot just to get her and her husband back in love… super random. kind of annoying at times. silly and fun but also wish there was more to it. it seemed like nothing was really important tbh

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translation issues aside, it was thrilling !

this was a great premise (the ring x excorism) so it gripped me right away. i love the horror genre and i think the series did great with its casting, the talent of its actors, the execution, and even the music/score elevated the intensity! this was like an exploration into the body horror genre as well~

it was such a sad look at the reality of young adulthood, school bullies, difficult home life, and betrayal. i loved that shamanism was both criticized as well as framed with heroism; many series these days only paint shamanism in a bad light so i thought it was interesting to see how it could be used to “exorcise” demonic forces and intent instead of just being the cause of a curse. the way the spiritual world was executed, how the main characters had to get through the three doors and how haetsal helps guide them in the mortal world was cool asf i ate it upppp😈

a couple criticisms:
- the netflix translations were SO OFF. i’m not even fluent in korean but there were some lines in the english translation that weren’t even remotely said… it takes away from the emotional impact, i believe. the translations tried to explain what was happening instead of letting the audience connect to the characters through their actions and seeing their emotions on screen. sigh
- that ending???? i get you want to express that there may be a second season but it was kind of corny lol also if destroying the thing that caused the curse defeats the curse, why would the app still work? 🤐😭 i’d rather watch a second season that completely focuses on haetsal’s journey into being free from the spirits that are attached to her instead of diving into the app curse again

ALSO i do hope there was no generative AI use 😭 some scenes seemed a lil sus

anyway! i thought this was a pretty decent first season, even though it was so short. i will be seated for what’s next!

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better condensed plot than s1’s mess

after the mess that was s1, i was looking forward to the redemption in s2, as i think s1 would have done well if it weren’t for sae ron’s tragic dismissal from the show.

s2's 7 episodes were packed with intention and it was much cleaner; easy to follow. the plot is predictable, but it makes for entertainment.

i loved the fight choreography! i can tell everyone worked hard to practice their scenes and make a rewarding visual. i also loved the contrast in geonwoo's and woojin's emotional tendencies that balance against the harshness and ruggedness of the show overall. the show does a great job in breaking through that hefty masculinity and making sure the tenderness in the main characters and some side characters are still prevalent in each episode, and no one calls them weak for showing it.

i absolutely did not enjoy the explicit sexual assault of the man on the massage chair, and with the way it was written, the audience is to assume this was partly done for giggles, but i did not see it that way. it was a blatant threat of forced sodomy and in the graphic way the fight scenes are shown, i don't necessarily think this specific scene was needed. other than that, i had no other issues with the violence. possibly just personal preference for me.

all in all, it did a great job of telling a story, connecting its characters, and providing adrenaline to its audiences.

i'm looking forward to s3 if it happens, but if it doesn't, i wouldn't be all that upset either way. also this would undoubtedly not pass the bechdel test but i wonder how many women were involved with development.

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great telling of mental health mixed with silliness

i loved the portrayal of mental health here compared to other shows that mention it. in doctor slump, at least they acknowledge that depression and anxiety are ongoing struggles, even ptsd. it’s not something you overcome within a few episodes and some heartfelt and inspiring speeches. and the two main leads helping each other though the worst of it was a nice touch 🥹

i loved jeongwoo’s silliness and puppy attitude, even when he’s going through touch times—very accurate depiction of someone who could be struggling with mental health. it doesn’t always look like gloom and sadness.

also haneul’s struggles as a woman in a male-dominated field leading to her breaking point was very important, and i’m glad they didn’t shy away from it, and even made a good friend the bad guy even if he wasn’t inherently bad.

overall enjoyable, wonderful family and cast, and relatable asf 😭💔💗 thank god jeongwoo didn’t reconcile with his parents LMAO frick that. 🤠

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predictable and confusing but entertaining

there are definitely parts of this series where it makes no fuckin sense lmaoo but i wanted to add first and foremost: i can’t believe that the gay man died to house a hetero in his body and live his hetero romance im sickkkkkk😭😭😭

the 5 minutes of gay representation eliminated by what happens next and i absolutely don’t think it’s okay 😀 they could’ve made him a straight man why did they erase his identity AND kill his partner 😭

ANYWAY. other than that i predicted pretty much the flow of the story but there were some twists/turns about it. there are some times where it’s not believable bc how the characters act are so out of whack to reality but we have to suspend some belief in order to enjoy our time-traveling shows lol.

i’m sure there were some loopholes but i don’t remember them much now—should’ve wrote them down on the spot.

but i did enjoy this, though not as much as i wanted to. i didn’t really like the turn of events where the girl returns to her own body and completely ignores the fact that she’s a murder target and someone in her school legit got brutally murdered as well—all bc her crush is finally paying attention to her. and i also didn’t like the fact that the male lead turns his back on the girl once he finds out that she’s back to her normal self. they were friends before all this body swapping happened so it’s sad to believe that he would not care about her after the person he had a crush on left her body (sorry i forgot their names already; i’m reviewing a couple weeks after i finished).

i also don’t understand why the brothers would have swapped ?? what is going on with that town!!!! lmfao

overall enjoyable if you don’t mind being confused and annoyed lol

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Great in the beginning but fell short halfway through

This was a decent series in the first three episodes. I saw them setting up the plot for the long run, but due to unfortunate circumstances and casting revisions (therefore slight plot changes?), it didn’t deliver in the end. I am a little over halfway done with the last episode as I write this and I just can’t wait for it to be over with tbh.

I LOVED the casting, the “OG” crew with Mr. Choi and Hyeonju and the two knifers. I believed they were an important part of why I cared about anything in the show - the “found family” trope was strong, especially since it could be traced to one person (Mr. Choi + his ride or dies + his granddaughter, later adding Woojin + Gunwoo). I knew they wouldn’t all survive and I was ready for it, but not in the way it panned out.

The knifers had been in this business for YEARS. They were actively planning on taking down the guy who brought the downfall of their organization years ago. It’s hard to believe they would be so careless as to leave personal items behind to trace their loved ones or look at a busted door alarm and not be super vigilant since you’re in the MIDDLE of an organizational takedown. I knew they’d have to fight, but there’s just no way they’d be ambushed due to these details.

And of course with everything that had happened with Saeron, her scenes were cut
to show her minimally and only up to what was important to the initial plot, but I feel like because of that, it lacked any luster after Mr. Choi died. Her character had a fierce personality and she was learning the ways of that “career path;” it’s hard to believe that she’d let these deaths go so easily and fly off to Rome by herself (not even inviting the 2 main leads who her grandfather wanted to go with after this mission). Her disappearance caused the plot to be lost a little in the overall revenge, especially because she was so important from the get-go. This started with Mr. Choi and even if they got other people involved with him to help bring him the revenge that was deserved, it didn’t make as much impact as if it were Hyeonju who helped end things.

Even the introduction to Mr. Oh’s granddaughter felt like too much replication of the plot (with her wanting to help her grandfather and randomly being a great archer, etc.). It wasn’t the fix that this show needed, and I don’t think anything other than having Hyeonju finish it would have helped in my opinion.

Even the ending where Gunwoo was buddying up with the criminals who pretended to be homeless & stole their IDs was completely out of character. He has a high sense of justice and even if they needed his help to take down the bigger evil, I don’t believe he would be so casually joyful with them because of the things he’d done to the weak/people with disabilities.

The original casting was amazing though; I love Dohwan and watched this for him! I love the camaraderie of Woojin + Gunwoo, the budding of Hyeonju’s character opening up, the knifers’ loyalty and expertise.

The fight scenes were so fun to watch and really well choreographed. I was on the edge of my seat when the knifers had their last fight, and every time the 2 main leads were able to show off their boxing/fighting skills as well.

This series had great potential and it’s so unfortunate that Saeron had to be edited out so much, and that this was her last project fulfilled. Her scenes were powerful and important. I hope since there are talks of a second season, it makes more sense in terms of plot and consistency overall.

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intricate weaving of love becoming selfless

tl;dr i might just kms idk

-`♡´-

i enjoyed the story a lot, i loved how in the end the father that hae jo found was not the one who created him but the one he wanted to see the most even if he is a 시발개새끼, at least he found some closure and so did his pos father 😒

i enjoyed seeing the dynamics and growth of the 3 main cast as well as their increasing fondness for each other and how they reach maturity within themselves thru their adventures and struggles. and how hae jo still had lots of people around him who cared for him and would CARE FOR him like family would.

since the beginning i was dreading any scene with snow LMAO but they did wrap it up nicely given there was only 10 eps. lots was happening but it didn’t feel too rushed and i think the amount of episodes was just right

i also didn’t mind the fact that they didn’t expand on john na’s character LOL the air of mystery was fitting but i need to let y’all know i’m a #greysanatomy girlie so i love him a lil more than yall do 😜

the emotion was so raw and we got to see the perspectives of hae jo’s lover, mother figure, father figure, work partner, rival, and how they ended up making a found family situation which i always personally love to see 🥹

i love how it ended with hae jo’s smile and even though he has regrets and wants more out of life he knows that he’s lived a beautiful life and he’s loved endlessly 😣💕

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had potential but fell flat

loved the main cast!! but there were sooo many characters to hate lmfao the balance among characters that i liked and disliked was not good or i’d have given it a higher rating. i was too annoyed with some characters in every episode to fully enjoy myself

there were also lots of plots happening and i know the point is to show growth and character development but i feel like i didn’t get enough from hyejun and jeongha. i wish we dived into their relarionship more before we showed hyejun getting busy and them distancing from each other. we barely get any indication from either of them that their relationship is being affected by hyejun’s fame/schedule bc neither of them really discuss their issues w each other like a normal couple 😖just a couple sad glances and sighs here and there. a missed call and scenes with haehyo stepping in bc bro is so jobless 😭😭 it’s so frustrating that they don’t talk things out but i might just be biased bc i hate when couples don’t properly communicate w each other lmfao

anyway it was a decent series and i absolutely love the brotherhood of the 3 main male leads. i wish jeongha had more support from women so she could have her own people to lean on without having to be too independent, but i know it’s part of her character. it would’ve been nice to see her open up to her friends too and learning how to count on other people without getting the ick from what her mother has been like

this was my first park bo-gum exposure and i’ll be tuning in to his next projects!! officially a fan now hehe :p

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truly a must watch masterpiece

showing every step, every stage, every process, every moment of grief, every iconic and flop era of a woman’s life is not easy to do but this series created such cohesive and beautiful stories following many women over the course of a few generations and it’s astounding to see the value of a woman’s love and the choices she can, will, won’t, should, and doesn’t make. it showed so many sides of women through adolescence, young adulthood, and beyond. it celebrated the character behind the man and what it takes to be the backbone of your family as well as the sacrifices you make and the ways in which you need to step up. i can’t rave enough about this story and its characters and the twists and turns and the grief OH THE GRIEF!!!!! it’s so beautiful and haunting and so full of life in every turn. just a wonderful story overall. i can’t wait to rewatch it again.

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women with autonomy >>>>

first and foremost thought i wanted to jot down for this review: i love how the women all made their own decisions. no matter right or wrong, this series showed multiple aspects of women in these circumstances with their thoughts, decisions, logic, and ultimately their actions. whether it was a reaction or a preemptive move, it was always the women leading it through. the men were merely a tool, which i thought showed a lot about what this kind of series was about, even if i struggled with it when it came to solving this mess.

as soon as jin became aware of the women’s actions and their plans (or lack thereof), i realized how much i’ve been conditioned to watch a man take over and “save” the day, not giving any thought as to whether the women were capable of completing what they finished, what they’re able to get away with, etc. it would’ve been SO much easier to let jin take the reign, call his men, and clean everything up, but the series challenged us to let the women keep their lead role to drive the plot on their own. jin was there to help them, steer them in the right direction, give his resources, and ultimately give them safety, which was so so important to show that there are men who are more than willing to help women in need.

and i loved that jin acquiesced most of the time, to show that yes he’s capable of much more, without the need of the women to do anything further once he was filled in on what was happening, but he gave them space to do what they thought was right, even if he possibly didn’t agree with it (aka when he let hui-su run out of the hospital to confess—it may have gone better than what ended up happening if he put his foot down and locked them up, took away their autonomy and took care of things on his own). i think this was a very important part of the series that people may even overlook because they want the women to get away with it, to achieve that satisfying justice.

in terms of plot, it was definitely wild. it had that wow factor to reel you in, but it never made the theme of domestic violence any smaller. it highlighted the lengths people would go to on both sides—being the victim and wanting to escape by any means necessary, and seeing the abuse but not wanting to shake the status quo, or to hurt your loved ones who are the abusers.

the misconception that violence should be kept in private was challenged, the sad reality that people do protect abusers was shown, even those who are in positions to challenge it (like being in law enforcement and being a public DV advocate). and i also liked that they showed that there were people in law enforcement who were trying to do right by the victim (jin-young’s partner? or fellow officer idk). there were so many points to this series that i feel like i could write an essay on it 😅

all in all, there were many thought-provoking ideas in here but it never shied away from what was the root: domestic violence is never easy to run from either due to family circumstances (eun-su’s mom staying to keep her family together) or power play (jin-pyo’s family always being aware but never confronting jin-pyo because of their careers/status). society teaches us that we should not interfere with personal affairs, that this is something that just happens to people. but it’s never that. domestic violence doesn’t just happen—it is being done by someone, it is being committed.

i was thoroughly entertained with the story and moved by the characters all the same. the craziness of the events didn’t faze me because there are so many cases of domestic abuse that it could well be just as crazy if not crazier than the stories told in this series. the fact that there were multiple victims of domestic violence in close connection with eun-so in her family life as well as her work life depicts how common it has become—it is EVERYWHERE. i feel like the crazy plot twists just shows how wild it could get if passersby become like eun-su in the beginning and become desensitized whenever they see violence in domestic settings.

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