Kdrama Feminist
England
This review may contain spoilers
NON-SPOILER OVERVIEW: I stand by my huge love for the first 3/4s of this drama. Though I was disappointed by the end, a large part of that disappointment came from the start being so good. Because despite the cliches, it's not a bad ending or anything like that. Against other romcoms I think it's above average, it just feels worse because of what came before. I still recommend it too! For the friendships, for the fluttering romance, for the unconventional story, for the way it feels like I'm watching real people. It's heartfelt and sweet but do be warned that the show you begin watching will not be the show you finish watching. Prepare yourself for averageness creeping in at around ep 12? 13? and you'll be fine! SPOILERS BELOW!
This review was so hard to write so to solve this confusion I'll just go by the trusted method: LISTS!
Things Done Well:
- JI HO (mostly). I related really heavily with Jiho at the beginning of the drama making me immediately attached. Plus her refreshing habit of speaking her mind so bluntly but not unkindly was literally the most innovative thing this drama did in regards to typical female kdrama leads so, props to them. I faltered a little when her big dream turned out to be love not writing but I realise that's just a personal thing so I won't judge much for that. I faltered MORE when her personality as established seemed to up & disappear 3/4 into the season? Why? Where did my Jiho go and who left this generic imposter in her place? Disappointing doesn't begin to cover it.
- SOO JI. Flawless. Perfect. Loving. Sexy AF but also cute AF. The duality of woman. We love to see it. Enjoyed her growth so so much from being v closed off & afraid of commitment to fully falling into it. From being afraid to catch her dreams because of her mum to daring to *because* of her mum. Unlike Jiho, she loses none of her personality and characteristics once she's in a relationship. Thank god.
- SE HEE. I'll just say it. Sehee's idea of a relationship/marriage - boundaries, respect, open communication and support & minus the guilt, expectations & empty promises that could lead to bitterness later - is exactly my idea of a relationship. I loved him from the moment he told Jiho's mum he wouldn't promise to protect her and it did not diminish the entire show. He's a little odd but I found that hugely endearing. Here's a personal ty from me to Sehee for now having someone to refer to when anyone asks me about my ideal man. Just throw in some of Sang Goo's dorkiness and I'll be hook, line & sinker.
- FEMALE FRIENDSHIP. These are women who unfailingly love, support and trust one another. No pointless drama. No high tension. No boring bitchiness. When I think of my friends I think of the kind of easy companionship and in-jokes that these three have and any scenes involving the trio were my absolute favourites.
- AN "ADULT" STORY. No I don’t mean x-rated lol. For once I watched these adults and felt like I was watching real adults and not (as many romcoms usually have) hormonal teenagers in adult bodies.
- HO RANG X WON SEOK. (mostly). Because they love each other they refused to see or talk about their incompatibility until it literally grew too big and awful to ignore. I really liked it because I believed their relationship and how it progressed. I say mostly because I'm unsure about their conclusion... I'm not against them getting back together, I just wish if that was their endgame they had broken up earlier in the drama so we had more time to watch them grow. As it stands, their break up this time was literally no different to any other break up except now Ho Rang has a chart. Wow. Growth.
Things Done Bad:
- Jiho & her characterisation falling off the face of the planet. Literally this was the worst thing the drama did because it made the finale boring. It also made me realise how much of the drama is built around how refreshing Jiho & her friends & Sehee are and with her gone it left the puzzle incomplete and me unsatisfied.
- Reduced Trio appearances. Like I said above, the trio and their scenes together were the best parts of the drama and towards the end the trio's screentime together pretty much disappeared. I HATED IT.
- The whole stalker storyline. I'll just link to my post about my thoughts on that mess: https://mydramalist.com/profile/kdramafeminist/feeds/WAN22I3
- Jiho's inner monologue going from through-provoking & interesting to nonsensical and pretentious.
- A story that began as something unique and avoiding cliches eventually devolving into the exact cliches it was avoiding. LETS NUMBER THEM!
1. FL speaks her mind? Nope, lets just have her being ~vague~ bc cliche!
2. Open communication between the couple? Nope, let's just have them not have a normal conversation outta nowhere and for no reason bc cliche!
3. Couple breaks up because their life goals don't match and realise love doesn't always mean marriage? Nope, lets have them back together after like a month with literally nothing changing regarding their individual life goals bc cliche!
4. ML is an introverted, dorky type and that's fine? Nope, let's give him a pointless, macho, hero scene to prove he's worthy as the lead! Bc cliche!
5. Current FL and ML's ex get along because the ex has completely moved on in life so working together is reasonable? Nope, let's have Jiho turn down the job offer because she chose "love" even those there was no tension on-screen between any of them, bc cliche!
Overall, I'm glad I watched it! I enjoyed more than I didn't but sadly its missteps means it won't be going into my favourites or mentions lists. The drama as a whole might not have stolen my heart, but individually it gave me amazing characters that 100% did & that's a compromise I'm fine with!
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The characters shine. The plot... not so much.
This drama’s rating is high purely because of the characters. Song Ah x Joon Young are two of the softest, politest, most introverted leads I’ve ever watched. I fell in love with them from the start and I never fell out despite my declining interest in the drama. PEB & KMJ play them to perfection.The second leads are both great too. Hyeon Ho is easy to love - the smiling, puppy in love. Jung Kyung is more complex. Struggling with her fallen star & complicated feelings, she’s still clever and kind and I don’t care what anyone says, I loved her. I’ll be adding her to my pantheon of second female leads who deserved better. (It’s a really great club btw I’ll make a list of them all one day)
Cha Young In (the noona from the kyunghoo foundation) was also a quiet favourite of mine. Unlike the many immature & selfish professors from the university, she’s grown wise with time & dispenses advice and knowledge freely without judging or looking down on anyone. Everyone is lucky to have her as their senior in life tbh. I’d love an older female friend like her.
So yes. 6.5 stars purely because they all live bright in my heart and the first third or half was really good.
The plot lets it down. At some point past act 1 it becomes this endless slog of misery and miscommunication (from a couple that thrived on being open with one another no less!)
I didn’t mind it being slow because it felt like a healing drama and for a while it was. It soon devolved into a melodramatic mess however and the neat bow-wrapped ending isn’t enough to save it.
Just another drama of what-could-have been to join the many already littering the LOST POTENTIAL graveyard.
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Pure, Crazy Fun
Despite how some of the stills look, this is 100% a comedy from start to end & it’s a good one! I had no idea what to expect going in - all I knew was that the premise was beyond dumb and I had a sudden need to watch something crazy.Well this show is dumb! And it’s definitely crazy! But in the best way!
Knowing how bizarre the premise of a self-aware handsome zombie is, the drama doesn’t once take itself seriously and delivers comedy gold from the ridiculous situations the leads find themselves in: including the slapstick, the little skits they have and the wacky side characters.
Most important, like any good comedy it has heart. You’ll find yourself caring a lot about these characters, our zombie main lead and his tenacious & clever partner especially (hello awesome female character!) and when the time comes for serious moments, the drama delivers - best of all it doesn’t stay serious for too long & quickly returns to being lighthearted which is why I’m here!
The second main villain of the show is literally the worst actor I have ever had the misfortune to witness - how did this man get a role it’s not like he has an idol career to boost him - but aside from that (and plot threads which I wish were better tightened up or character beats more developed) this is basically a fun time to be had. Genuine laugh out loud moments scattered throughout. What more could you ask from a comedy!
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Kindness Wrapped in a Warm Hug
This drama is near perfect - a fact made even better because I went into it truly knowing nothing about it so the surpise was better AND that it's written by a completely new writer. The breath of fresh air it brought to the kdrama world is something else!Goo Se Ra is the obvious highlight of the series - Nana plays her earnestness and recklessness and kindness to perfection. Se Ra has a huge heart and is so soft but never ever lets herself be walked over by anyone. What an amazing female character. I dare anyone not to fall in love with her laugh.
Gong Myung is her perfect love interest - the brains to her heart. He's kind of awkward and blunt but so sincere and extremely loyal. Together they are literally one of the softest couples who so so obviously like each other as much as they love each other.
Just watching them makes you realise how many supposed romances really miss that important part of just having the leads enjoy each others company. They are equals in every sense of the word, protective of each other, so adorable to watch and have shot all the way up to be one my favourite OTPs ever!
The extended cast is amazing - particularly Se Ra's friends, our wise-beyond-years kid neighbour and her fellow politicians who are all so memorable whether its because you hate them, laugh at them or are conflicted over them. Hee Soo in particular was a really interesting grey character and just another great female character in a whole cast of them.
The through-line throughout the series is so important too. In the most basic sense it's about politics sure, but mostly it's about always having hope for a better future, never giving up in the face of long odds and making sure to stand up for those who cannot stand themselves.
Special shout-out to the director! The angles and wideshots in the drama made it one of the most unique watches of 2020 and it deserves to be on everyone's best-of-year lists, whether it comes into rewards or not.
Go watch! You won't regret it! There's truly nothing out there like this.
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Amnesia? Chaebols? Mean rich guys? Clueless poor girls? Bitchy second leads? Truck of doom? Dead family? Fated meeting? Literally I could list All.Of.Them. And find that this drama almost definitely has it. Throw a pin and you’ll land on a cliche.
But I still liked it?
I’ll be honest, there’s a lot of reasons why ordinarily I wouldn’t. And I can’t say I didn’t get annoyed often watching it - I didn’t like a single character from that office for e.g and Bok-Shil’s passiveness irritated me.
But I still liked it?
Well, I liked it once I stopped thinking too much about it. Simply put, this drama lives only by its leads. They have excellent chemistry, are super charming, so so easy to watch and when they’re together their cuteness literally overrides any bad or boring or cliche problem this drama has. Like, it COMPLETELY overrides it. I skipped through plenty of scenes but not a single Bok-Shil x Louis one. Luckily, the drama also clearly knows that the leads are the stars because the plot doesn’t spend much time away from them and even the traditional kdrama angst moments are pretty short lived.
In the end, despite so many reasons I normally wouldn’t, I still loved this drama. It’s so fun and sweet and wholesome and if you’re like me and just skip all the dead weight, it’s super short too! I would genuinely rewatch just to see Louis being the cutest puppy of all time and Bok Shil smiling so sweetly, she’d make sugar jealous.
I recommend to everyone!!! Just know what you’re going in for first and it’s unlikely you’ll not enjoy yourself with these two being the softest kdrama beings ever put to screen.
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THE GOOD:
- Baek Chan Mi is a really refreshing & charismatic character. She's basically the violent, hardened, wild-card type that's usually a role occupied by men so it's great to see it changed up here. Choi Kang Hee kills it and is definitely the star of the show. Even better, she's allowed to be soft and cry without it ever compromising what a badass she is. Loved her from start to finish, she has about 4 of my 6.5 stars all to herself.
- The chemistry between the 3 leads which grows naturally and stays strong throughout the show.
- I think Lee Sang Yeob is my favourite (male) actor. I'm just going to say it. He's played such diverse characters in everything I've seen him in & he kills it every time. His character here is the perfect fit for Chan Mi and their chemistry is the cute, lived-in type that's so fun.
- Most of the comedy is done well and is basically all off the back of the idea that this really is just a normal office romcom drama with a spy twist. Every joke begins there and I don't mind it, made me laugh!
- The action sequences. To be clear, I will never *not* be a sucker for ladies kicking ass. I feel both attracted to them and empowered in myself so it's a win-win everytime.
THE OKAY:
- The overall plot is a little weak and only gets weaker as the show goes on, but it's not completely atrocious, everything follows the correct story beats, so I can live with it.
- Hwang Mi Soon is the housewife spy and I mostly really enjoyed her, she's clearly the most experienced member of the team and it shows. But sometimes jokes were made at her expense instead of with her (shitty husband that a spy like her would never put up with; gags about her weight) that I blame on the writers and brought down her character.
- Ye Eun but only at the start when she got to use her skills & her storyline seemed to show promise.
THE BAD:
- Ye Eun when her storyline & characterisation was dropped in favour of just an AWFUL romance plot I started off not giving a shit about and ended up hating. I can forgive her being a crybaby and bad at fieldwork - she's a rookie. But in exchange she's supposed to be this excellent hacker/tech whiz. Spoiler alert: she's not. The team's actual tech whiz is more competent than she is and her storyline ultimately serves no purpose except as props to Chan Mi & WORST OF ALL... Woo Won.
- Woo Won. Hello most pointless character. Exists solely to piss me off. No relation to the main plot. Starts off whiny and immature and stays that way til the end but somehow gets a happy ending anyway? BS. Jun and his beautiful face is the only saving grace here. Nothing else.
- I won't spoil but the finale leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, this show should've been 12 episodes. As with so many kdramas before it, it suffered from its company mandated run-time and began to really lag in the middle-end stretch.
Overall, if you want a female-focused drama with hijinks, a soft male lead and some ass-kicking, check it out! Just be warned that it really isn't that deep and if you want Ye Eun to get her moment or think she knows more about what's happening because they told us she was super smart and you're waiting for that to turn up in the actual show... (it's okay, i'm fine, unfilled potential who?) then give up bc it'll never happen. Not bad. Not great. Only the cuteness puts it a few steps up from ok.
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Which is to say I loved this drama and a big part of that is because it did a good job you getting you deeply invested and rooting for our protagonists even though you know they're doing some seriously illegal, unethical stuff. Oh Jisoo is the clever underdog who dreams of an average life that his circumstances might never get him and you can't help but get attached immediately. Kim Donghee is a really great actor, I hope his star only rises from here. Bae Gyuri meanwhile is privileged but trapped and definitely sociopaths on some level. I'm pretty certain her connection with Jisoo is the first genuine one she's had which makes their story so much sadder. She was the clear highlight for me, even though she's manipulative and unlikable she's undeniably clever and quick on her feet and just so enjoyable to watch. I wanted her happiness as much as Jisoo's! I'll be keeping an eye out for Park Joo Hyun's future projects!
The drama is graphic and drops in heavy topics when it comes to sex work and the criminal underworld so I'd avoid if those topics are uncomfortable for you. But otherwise I highly recommend! It's a rollercoaster with our teen leads as all of them navigate a dangerous world none of them are fully equipped for and attempt to somehow come out the other end unscathed. It's definitely dark and angsty but like watching a crash you can't tear your eyes from!
P.S. No spoilers but the ending is slightly open-ended if that's also something you avoid.
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Right, now I got that off my chest...
Season 2 really stepped it up from season 1. Beginning exactly where the first one leaves up, you'll easily binge all six episodes as the energy, intrigue and zombie guts do not let up. The special effects are believable, the 18 rating means they are not shy when it comes to blood and guts. The scope of the show is huge and some of shots are just breathtaking to look at.
Each cast member is amazing, especially the core cast. My love for Seo Bi only grew this seasons, but our Crown Prince and his band of heroes, along with the Evil Queen and her villainous enterouge all continue to be so much fun to watch. My one wish was that we had more time to flesh out the relationships between the cast.
If you loved the first, you'll love this! And as long as you aren't too squeamish, I highly recommend this to everyone who enjoys sageuks, fantasy, horror, thriller, action & politics!
PS. This is my first ever review on MDL, so please be gentle/forgiving of any faux pas made here!
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And all wrapped up in an excellent horror show that ups the fear & creep factor to eleven using clever directing, music but especially character work. Every actor here is excellent and whilst Im Siwan & Lee Dong Wook are the obvious stars, the supporting cast are all so real and well portrayed that you'll completely fall into the show from the moment it starts.
I dare anyone not to binge watch, it's impossible! And at 10 episodes it's tightly plotted too with it never suffering the kdrama problem of having a slow middle. Then again, whilst I wouldn't say the middle was slow, I did find myself a little bored through certain scenes in the first half. Maybe I wasn't emotionally attached enough or maybe I was just waiting for the set-pieces to arrive.
Overall though every episode left me running to watch the next one and watching the whole thing was as frustrating & heartbreaking as it was fascinating & captivating.
Highly recommend for lovers of horror, crime & dark shows. Also for anyone who loves shows that are a little deeper or heavier with heaps of symbolism and clever writing thrown in.
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This review may contain spoilers
Just looking at the overall rating I know I'm against the grain here so I'll just keep my reasons for a low score in a simple list format so if any of you have similar tastes to mine you'll know whether you want to give this drama a chance.1. The beginning half remains brilliant. Fast-paced, great cast, fluttering romance, mystery. A good dose of everything we love in a kdrama.
2. The North Korean squad and the village wives are both amazing from the start and remain amazing til the end. If I rewatched it would be solely for them.
3. A character death at the end serves no story purpose except to ensure the second couple don't outshine the main couple.
4. Our no-nonsense Seri devolves from a woman who knows her mind to one who spends 90% of the finale lying down or crying.
5. At the halfway point and then until pretty much the last 2-3 eps the pace slows riiiiight down and left me skipping through them all without missing anything significant.
5. An ending that wrapped things up well enough but left me unsatisfied.
So, not for me, this one.
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Sadly the execution wasn’t exactly to my tastes. The first 3 episodes are very much a murder mystery with the fantasy elements super understated. Then for the last 3 episodes, those two themes are switched. As someone drawn in by the trailer promising ghosts and supernatural shenanigans, I found myself skipping through a lot of the beginning as it didn’t match my expectations. Still, if you read this & go into the series knowing what it’ll be like maybe you’ll enjoy it more!
The story was serviceable, with some highs (Li Lan x Er Lang interactions) and some lows (the second-male lead and his whole side plot? I didn’t care) and the highlights for me were definitely our two leads who have an easy banter that makes their chemistry pop and the show’s villain who was over-the-top in the most fun way (also has gorgeous hair & gorgeous clothes).
I recommend for anyone who enjoys fantasy elements or ghost stories but doesn’t want to be scared. Oth murder mystery thread running through the whole thing could be your thing! To round it off, Li Lan, our lead, is witty and sharp who holds her own even when the going gets tough.
Enjoyable and short enough that it’s the perfect choice for newcomers to the genre to dip their toe!
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Shame about the black face.
I don’t care how good your movie is folks, or when it’s from or where it’s from. Racism is now and always has been gross and I don’t want to see it in my entertainment.
If you want to watch something like this that ISN’T racist I recommend the drama Good Casting! It does feature a very annoying secondary romance but I’ll take irritating man baby over out & proud racism any day of the week.
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Withstands the Test of Time!
I first watched this drama 5 years ago as of writing this review but was suddenly compelled to watch it again. A slightly nerve-wracking prospect as tastes and times both change and I was worried I wouldn't love it as much the second time all these years later.Well - I definitely did love it! My rating has changed from a 9 to a 8.5 but that's because watching it now having seen hundreds more dramas, I'm more aware of the cliches and problematic tropes. And this drama definitely has them - keeping unnecessary secrets is the worst offender considering our ML can literally *read minds* but there are other offences here and there (wrist grabs and male characters trying to rob the FL of her agency etc).
BUT they really are only very minor offences. In every other way both the characters and plot have stayed as refreshing as the first time. The FL is arrogant & lazy to the point of being unlikable but we see her through Park Suha's eyes and watch her grow into an admirable lawyer. The relationship between Jang Hye Seong & Prosecutor Seo is also a fun breath of fresh air as they go from enemies with genuine reason to be enemies to something better when they meet again as adults. Considering the trend of the times (and in many places the continued trend of today) it's nice to see women navigate a complicated relationship together without it devolving into high-school type nonsense. (Though there is some pettiness and it's always hilarious).
The drama is funny when it wants to be funny, heartfelt when it needs to be heartfelt and surprises you with the care it shows its characters. Park Suha is romantic & emotional so the perfect balance to Hye Seong's more pragmatic and realistic nature but their chemistry together is genuinely adorable. He's a genuinely likeable lead that's super easy to root for from start to end. Because the show focuses on public defenders, the cases are all blue collar crimes which is nice in this chaebol-filled drama landscape and the drama's lesson about the blind hand of justice needing to be able to see from time to time in order for true justice to be given is a genuine one that's put across super well.
Oh and - the villain is consistently awful and deserves everything that happens to him.
Highly recommend no matter what genre you tend to pick!
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The plot is frustrating, the pacing is all over the place, the hate for powerful women is strong, the chemistry between the leads is about as fire as a wet fish (despite being super cute off-screen???), god this drama is bad. It also has one of my personal most hated tropes of introducing a supposedly badass female lead only for her to descend into crying damsel by like... episode 2. I KNEW it would happen but damn was I unhappy to be right.
There might be a few reasons to watch this drama. Woo Do Hwan having crazy chemistry with himself is no.1, Jung Eun Chae being beautiful is no.2. But other threads like Kim Kyung Nam’s storyline which has the potential to be good or Luna or even our main villain - are all so sidelined in favour of the boring romance & making Lee Minho look cool that I was just frustrated waiting for the interesting parts instead of looking forward to them.
Also if you watch on mute you can be dazzled by the gorgeous cinematography & production value. Plus, the OST is amazing as I find the OSTs of trash dramas tend to be. (Why is this such a common kdrama trend?)
Anyway, I’ll be waiting for wdh x jec to receive justice by starring together as lovers in something else bc they have chemistry just by glancing at each other & meanwhile enjoy myself via the rants of people hate-watching a dragging every other second a ppl appears to the dirt.
Ps. Writing this review was extremely cathartic, thankyou @myself for the rant I needed it.
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People loving Books & Each Other
This was a cute, satisfying watch that had a few elements letting it down.I appreciated that the chemistry between our leads genuinely felt like they were childhood friends and I could sense the warmth between them. On the downside, despite how cute they were, they definitely lacked some romantic chemistry. I never really believed that the FL fell in love with the ML who had more chemistry with his hoobae. Still they are cute together so it’s not a dealbreaker.
The pacing was also definitely off in this drama, with a lot of pointless wheel spinning in the middle leading to like a 100 different plot threads converging & needing to be resolved in only 2 episodes. Everything was wrapped up nicely but felt rushed. Also the big emotional moments of the end weren’t built up well enough imo, we didn’t spend enough on-screen time with it so I just didn’t care.
Still I enjoyed it mostly! Lee Jong Suk plays cute really well. The second FL, Song Hae Rin was by far my favourite character - I had SLS in a big way for her. I wish she & the second ML were the main characters their chemistry was off the charts! (Also she’s a rare example of a nice second fl so good for her). The general team and office antics were always fun and the best parts of the show and though I never particularly cared for Kang Dan I, I felt happy for her successes.
I wish shows would stop labelling every successful solo female in a workplace a “witch”. This was at the beginning and tbh left a sour taste for the entire show’s run. It’s sexist. Don’t do it.
They slightly made up for it by giving me so many different female friendships though which I will ALWAYS love to see! Dan I forms genuine bonds with so many of the women in her workplace and all of them are different depending on the person. We love to see it.
In the end though it was a light watch, super easy to binge and I was left mostly satisfied with the ending. Main lead roles together for the second leads when!!
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