strong start, but disappointing end

This drama had such a good start! I was immediately hooked within the first few minutes. The intrigue of the what exactly was going on at the welfare center, who all the kids were, and what had happened to them had me thinking about this drama for days. I looked forward to the weekend so that I could watch the new episodes and then discuss possible killers with my sister. It was so much fun and I was excited to see how the story played out.
However. About midway through the drama, when things started to be revealed, I started to get frustrated with the writing. What I mean is that the writers seemed to treat the audience like we're dumb and continuously tried to trick us. They would HEAVILY imply that certain characters were the killer and then in the next few episodes be like, just kidding! It's actually this other person (who would proceed to act incredibly suspicious). I can't stand when shows do that. It feels like lazy writing. Instead of doing proper foreshadowing they spend all their time writing twists into the plot just to confuse/trick the audience.
I really did like the first part of the drama and I enjoyed watching all the actors, but overall I was just disappointed by how the story played out.

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not as good as the first season, but still worth watching

This season of D.P. felt like a completely different show from the first season. Suddenly, we have a Big Bad and a looming conspiracy that the good guys are dealing with. Suddenly, Junho feels like a different person and is apparently Jason Bourne in the last two episodes. I still loved Junho (and the rest of the gang), but he just felt different in this season. It was like he had a ton of development that the audience didn't get to see and was more confidant than the last time we'd seen him. Though, I should mention I have only seen the first season once and it was when it first came out, so I might be forgetting things.
This season also seemed less grounded in reality than the first season, which felt gritty and very real and knew exactly what kind of story it wanted to tell. This season seemed a little more out there in terms of reality and like I said the whole train/Jason Bourne thing was kinda wild.
All of that to say: I still watched the whole thing and was interested to see how it would all turn out. Plus it was nice to see all of the characters back on my screen (all of the actors were fantastic). I just think this season was a little lazy and not quite up to par with the first season.

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Had potential but felt like filler for what's to come in season 3

I can't tell you how excited I was for this season and how let down I ended up. I'm not sure what happened between the seasons with either writers, directors, etc. but something obviously changed because of how completely different season 2 was from the first.
I was actually okay with the time jump and introducing a new world/characters, but then nothing happened for like 3 full episodes other than major exposition with brand new characters that I did not care about at all. Also it was certainly a choice on the writers' part to sideline the MAIN characters for practically the entire season. It wasn't until Hyunsoo and the other OG characters started getting more screen time that I was genuinely interested in what was happening. Every brand new character they introduced was pointless to me. I didn't exactly hate them, but I just didn't see the point of devoting so much time to their seemingly meaningless storylines.
In my opinion what they should've done is actually shown Hyunsoo, Yi Kyung, and the child becoming a little family so that when it all falls apart there's an emotional impact on the audience. We also should've seen more of Eun Yoo and her interactions with the new characters (the soldiers, civilians, and the weird camping duo). In other words, the season should've centered around the main characters.
Honestly most of this season just felt like it was filler for the upcoming 3rd season and I really hated that because it had the potential to be something better and it really fell short. I actually do think the 3rd season will be really good just based on what's been set up in the last episode of season 2, and I am looking forward to that, but I was mostly just so frustrated with how this season played out.

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Compelling idea but lacking any real development

I'd been looking forward to this drama since it was announced and went into it really interested and excited. Unfortunately it didn't live up to what I expected.
Truthfully I wasn't really sure what to expect, but after the writers introduced the several plotlines in the first episode, I was excited to see what they would do, and then nothing really happened. Every single plot point (connect, organ traffickers, serial killer, etc.) was underdeveloped and didn't really go anywhere meaningful. Nothing was explained (I'm guessing they're counting on another season for that) and it just sort of ended.
I also had a hard time liking the characters, which makes it really hard for me to get into a series. The only person I did like was Ha Dong Soo, but even he was a little sad and pathetic that it was difficult to get fully onboard with him. Again, I think this is due to being undeveloped.
The actors did a good job, but I don't think they were given enough to work with. Or maybe it was just how the story was actually filmed/put together. I'm not really sure, but in the end the whole thing felt like it was missing something vital.

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Interesting Premise Executed in the Most Boring Way Possible

On Viki this drama is tagged as romance and fantasy, and it's not really either. From the little I knew about it going into it, I thought it would be an action sci-fi thriller, but it wasn't that at all. Then when I started it and wasn't getting the sci-fi thriller, I thought the romance would be strong. And while there is definitely romance, it wasn't as strong or impactful as I think it should've been.
Whenever the show did focus on the sci-fi elements, it was interesting and I wanted more of that, but the majority of the show is weirdly about the FL making her way through life and starting her career in hairdressing and makeup. The amount of time spent on the makeup drama was so strange to me. It just didn't fit in with the other world/messing with people's brains storyline.
Basically, this show took a really fascinating idea and told it in the most boring way possible. Okay, that's not really fair, because I did finish the whole thing and I didn't hate it. I just think that this could've been so much better if time had been spent on exploring the relationships between characters (Jiang Bo and his mother, Qi Lian and his father, Qi Lian and Jiang Xiao Yuan) and actually given us more of the hunt for answers (in a cinematic and exciting way instead of the slow plod that was shown. There really wasn't a moment where I thought the stakes were high and I was on the edge of my seat).
All of that said, I didn't hate it. I just wish it lived up to it's potential.

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decent and well made drama, but needs more episodes to flesh out the story

I liked most of this drama, but had some issues with the overall story. This definitely could've benefited from a few more episodes to flesh out Jiyong and his backstory. The audience does understand why he's doing what he's doing, but I think it was an abrupt escalation from assaulting bad guys to killing them. And maybe I'm just dumb, but it took me a little bit to realize that he was actually killing the bad guys. In my defense, it never actually showed him finishing them off, and it seemed like he gave some of them an option to repent (ex: the rich guy who hit the old lady with the cardboard).
Beyond giving Jiyong more of a full character, a few more episodes could've given us more depth into relationships between the characters and made us feel more for them other than a passing interest (maybe it's just me, but I wasn't too invested in any of the characters and most of them seemed a little one dimensional. Other than Jiyong's Number One Fanboy. He was great.). I think the bad guys and their evil plan could've used more depth as well, but given that it was only 8 episodes, they crammed a lot into them and it was a complete story.
Overall, a decent and well-made drama, but needed a little bit more to really flesh it out.

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This drama started strong for me, but ended in such a unnecessary place. I'm not sure I understand what the show was trying to say or accomplish.
Personally, I think they should've cut the whole 2023 storyline and kept the focus on the kids. I didn't hate the 2023 storyline, but it was distracting. Also I strongly feel that they ruined Go Yoo's character in the future because they wanted to keep the audience guessing on which boy it was.
I also think they should've cut Han So Yeon's character. She only added conflict to the story, which is usually a good thing, but in this case it was more frustrating than anything else because I loved the relationship between Go Yoo and Joon Hee and she was only getting in the way of them. In fact, their friendship and brotherhood was the best thing about this drama and truly the driving force of the whole thing. Which is why in the end, when Joon Hee leaves (after experiencing more headaches that are never explained) it makes no sense! Why would he stay gone for years and years? He wouldn't.
Lastly, since everyone is talking about Sehun, I want to throw in my two cents: I think he did a really good job. I went into this having seen a few of his older dramas and not being very impressed, so I was pleasantly surprised. This was a great role for him. He had great chemistry with all of his co-stars and was, in my opinion, the heart of the drama. I would love to see him take on more roles like this one in the future.
In the end, I'm disappointed with this drama, but it was short and had enough heart to keep me watching until the end.

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This drama has no right being this good

This drama has no right being this good!
I wanted to watch this when it first came out, but was waiting and then forgot about it. I'm so glad that I finally remembered and watched it.
Initially, it was the cinematography that drew me to watch this (I saw some gifs of it and thought it looked so pretty), but now that I've seen the whole thing, I can confidently say that it was the characters, their arcs, and their relationships with each other that really made the show worth watching.
Because it was a relatively short drama, the pacing was also very good. I'm not an expert at all, but I've often thought that the pacing in a lot of cdramas is not very good. A lot of time is spent on useless things and I always get bored halfway, but that wasn't the case with this show. It held my attention all the way through with no skipping on my part (another feat!).
My one complaint is that I thought the final episode was a bit rushed. There were a few things I wanted answered: was the Queen Dowager's crimes properly revealed and did Zhang Ping's clan receive justice? I also wanted Gu Qingzhang to have one final confrontation with Lan Jue and Zhang Ping. The relationship between the three of them was so interesting to me, and I do wished it'd been explored a little bit more, even though we have a pretty clear idea of what they all mean to each other. But I guess it's because of that, that I wanted to see them face each other before Qingzhang walked off into the mist, never to be seen again. It just felt a little anticlimactic, if a somewhat fitting end for him.
Anyway, great show, highly recommend.

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compelling idea, but not handled very well

I was definitely interested with this idea when I started this drama, but feel somewhat let down. The idea is actually really compelling to me, but it's told in such a weird way. The beginning/middle have such a strange tone. It's so happy/silly when I don't think it should've been. The writers should've leaned into the fact that a lunatic has been holding these four young men captive for years and abuses them when they fail him in any way. The show had hints of it, but didn't go very far with it.

It also handled all of the boys' childhood trauma in a weird way, not really getting into it, but just sort of mentioning it (mostly talking about Su Lie and Luo Ke here).

The big twist at the end was actually really good and surprised me, and then the ending episodes were fast paced and good. I would've liked the whole show to be in that same vein.

Also what is up with that Inception ending? Are they hoping for another season? Or were they just messing with the audience?

I know I'm pretty much dumping on this drama, but I did enjoy parts of it. I just got a little fed up with plot holes and poor story choices.

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Plot Holes But Overall Enjoyable

The idea of a Death Game isn't exactly new, but I usually always enjoy them. So I did like this drama too, but I didn't love it. The writing had quite a few holes, but it didn't really bother me because I wasn't super invested and just didn't really feel the tension. It wasn't that the stakes weren't high--they were, but I think because the characters weren't developed like they should've been, I didn't care about anyone too strongly. Even Yoonseo, who's supposed to be the lead, hardly felt developed.
I also guessed they were really in a game a few episodes in (or it was all dream) just because of the way the kids lost control and killed themselves and because of the moment everyone suddenly remembered the girl who'd died in the real world. Also when Junhee suddenly came back to life. That was a pretty clear sign this wasn't real life.
But like I said, none of that really bothered me and I enjoyed the drama for what it was.

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Messy and mindless, but still fun enough

This drama was so messy. It started out pretty good and I was interested enough to see how it all unfolded, but the further along it got the worse the pacing was. Not only that, but it was a little hard to like any of the characters completely when they were all pretty selfish in their own ways...and then didn't seem to really develop in any meaningful way (because I felt like we didn't see any development on screen).
That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy parts of this and I did finish it. I just think that it could've been so much better if they just developed the characters and their relationships better and then worked on the pacing overall.

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One of my Favorite Dramas of the Year

This drama was pretty much exactly what I've wanted from all of the historical/fantasy cdramas that I've watched (and not always finished) in the past.
It has smart and good characters, who go through an actual journey and have growth throughout the show. I also liked the fact that the writers never sacrificed how smart/cunning Li Ni and Cui Lin were for the sake of the plot. Things went wrong, but not because they were stupid and made poor choices.
The story itself was really enjoyable. It held my attention and had good pacing (something that lacks in a lot of cdramas imo). I also liked that while main story points were finished off and new ones took their places, it never felt forced or weird.
Even though I liked the tone of the show (it was light and serious when it needed to be, with just the right amount of angst) I do wish that characters/plots were allowed to be a little darker than they were. For example, I would've liked to see Miss Gu be more sinister and cunning to get her way. Same for the main villains--let's see them being more EVIL!
Lastly, while I really liked the ending, I do wish the climax was a little more intense. I wish that we'd built up to it more so that I was on the edge of my seat, but for what it was, I did really like it and how it played out in the end!

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Smart Character(s) and Plot

This drama was such a pleasant surprise. I started it without any expectations and was quickly sucked into the plot and characters. The plot starts out small, but quickly grows until the audience is getting more and more pieces of the puzzle.
I'm a fan of Smart Characters in general, but Yun Xiang has to be a new favorite of mine. A big reason for that is because of Chen Xiao. He was a standout to me. He was able to make us root for Yun Xiang, who's the type of character that can come off smug and annoying. One of my favorite parts of his character is that while he's constantly outmaneuvering every single character in the story, he can't save his own life when it's being threatened by martial artists. Which is where the love of his life comes in to save him. Their romance was lovely and was the perfect amount of longing/angst with happy moments throughout.
Overall this was such a wonderful surprise for me and while the filming/editing wasn't anything special, I really ended up enjoying myself a lot.

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not the best, but mostly enjoyable

I had basically no idea what this drama was about when I started it, and ended up having a fun time with it, even if it's truly not the best. In my opinion, the main problems are that the writers had a hard time balancing the quirky idol plot with the Evil One plot. They underdeveloped both plotlines and ended up not giving the viewers enough of either. If they'd managed to find a better balance with incorporating the Evil One stuff into the idol plot, this would've been better. Also, they should've cut way down on the second hand embarrassment of Rembrary not knowing what he's doing as an idol. It was funny at times, but I started to skip through a lot of that because I can't handle second hand embarrassment very well.
The very best part for me was Rembrary, Dal, and the Grim Reaper trio. They were so much fun all together!

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Funny drama, but loses any driving force towards the end

This had a strong start for me. I loved the characters and how funny it was at times. The plot was pretty simple and straightforward; it definitely had elements that pulled my interest and kept me watching, but around episode 12 after pretty much everything had been solved I got SO BORED. Not even my love for Seo Joon could stop my from skipping massive parts of the last few episodes, and based on what I saw during my skipping, I wasn't missing much. There's basically no plot after episode 12. Barely any conflict, which means there's nothing driving the story anymore. Anyway, a good time for a little while, but I'll likely forget about this one quickly.

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