itwillneverbefar

He pulls off the brashness, charisma and presence of the character extremely well. Plus he is believable in the fighting sequences and has good chemistry with other characters. The subtle emotional range of AC is lacking, but luckily for him, this character is one who bottles emotions, so I find his strengths as an actor match the character's strengths, and I 100% buy him as NQ and find him engaging on screen. That said, I'm actually looking forward to a change in cast for Season 2, so that we can add layers to NQ as he matures. AC did a fine job for this role.

This is the best executed fantasy C Drama I've seen. It wasn't perfect--too many episodes, inconsistent and uneven in plotting and characters, etc. But the overall writing was pretty seamless (emotionally resonant scenes , great sense of conflict and tension, well-crafted overall narrative, nice use of foreshadowing and theme), the characters were well-drawn, the acting was flawless (I can't think of one actor who didn't play their part to a T, the chemistry amongst the characters was no joke), the directing was sure, cinematography was breathtaking, pacing and editing were solid , CGI was impressive. I love the fun beginning , the romantic middle and the devastating last third. The last 12 or so eps (minus the last two, which felt like a letdown) were phenomenal. Sometimes it was just okay, but when it was good, it was SO DAMN GOOD. There were a few scenes I count as some of the best scenes of any show, period. That's why this is now my #1 fantasy C Drama.

Phoenix said it best when he said "It wasn't that you made miscalculations. It was that I made no calculations." Pretty much sums up the whole reason why she never loved the fish.

I couldn't get into Eternal Love either. I started skipping so much of the episodes I wondered why I was watching it in the first place. Also Fu Yao was pretty good but really drops in quality halfway through. Couldn't finish.

I keep coming to check back here to see when this is airing and it feels like it's been years even thought it's been like 3 months. This is gonna be a hit.

It's his perfect wuxia eyebrows.

He has such a lovely, deep but still youthful voice, so nice to hear it again! You can really hear the difference in his expressions and pronunciations, so much more subtle. His wuxia voice actors are bomb, but he honestly doesn't need them at all. (He dubbed his own voice for Eternal Love/Peach Blossoms and it was great.)

Daniel Day Lewis is a very famous American method actor. He gets so immersed in roles that he can only make a movie every few years because it takes such a toll. Korean drama filming is notoriously harsh, with crazy shooting schedules and high demands. KJH clearly wanted to deliver a knockout performance for his first lead melo role and did not have the support or experience to pull it off in such an environment. I applaud him for having the courage to admit that for his own health and sanity he needed to step away.

Korean fans are so quick to rake anyone through the coals--one bad showing at a press conference and they turned rabid on him. It's a shame. He's a really promising actor. I wish him well and hope to see him learn from this and come back more balanced and matured for his next role.

I kind of agree. Only kind of, though, To me the mark of a great villain is one you hate but also either admire or sympathize with. I don't think she brings enough vulnerability to the character. It's really not that hard to make someone hate you when you're doing evil things. For example, Papa and Hyun Moo are much more layered in their portrayal.

That made me ragey. There's no need for that!

The actor who plays the Prime Minister always brings the A+ villain game. Memorable characters that you love to hate but still can't quite totally hate. I was crying with laughter at his big robe reveal. He played that with as much enthusiasm as when he's plotting to kill people. Well done.

I feel like the leads have FIRE chemistry, but I get that it's a personal thing. hopefully as the drama continues they'll have more even scenes (right now it's a lot of the King flirting and her pulling away), and the chemistry can sizzle even more.

Also with Fenix in that she's supposed to be an 18 year old former slave--she needs some room to grow. So I like that she keeps acting too rashly and getting herself into sticky predicaments. I have no doubt by the end she'll be saving all those men and then some.

I enjoy this drama and still feel compelled to tune in every week. The main characters are a bunch of teens with shitty parents. Of course they are immature, of course they have serious emotional issues and hangups. And the romance between Tae Hee and Shi Hyun makes sense for a young, first romance--those are often overwhelming and passionate and shallow at first. All the horribleness of the characters makes for some juicy tension and conflict. Also it's shot well, and the scenes and sequences themselves are edited well--it's the connection between scenes that struggles in editing.

I don't much care for the repeat cycle of make up/break up. I still don't understand why Tae Hee broke up with him this last time, and I think the revelation of the Seduction Bet would have been more dramatic if they'd been together at the time. But I really love what they're exploring about friendship and relationships. This trio discovered that what held them together was nothing more than a shared sense of bitterness and being wronged. And they use the only tactics they know to try and save the friendship, only to destroy it. That's so melo, in the best way. I like the grayness of every character, even the adult characters. I like the complicated relationships everyone has with each other and their parents.

I have no idea how this will end. I would love it if they actually learned lessons and changed in some way. I think forgiveness and growth stories, even if bittersweet, and are more powerful than comeuppance/justice ones.

It took me 2 months to get through the first 4 episodes, and then I watched 5 in one day. Once Kyung Pyo's character really comes into the mix it takes off. I have a rule that I will watch up to episode 4 before dropping any drama. Real glad I stuck to my rule, here.

It kind of defies a happy/sad classification. There's lots of death and betrayal. I'd say the ending is bittersweet for every character.