michelleoc

This was a painful watch for me

I'll be honest, this was on my To Watch list for the longest time. I started the first episode multiple times, didn't like it, and gave up. I picked it up again because I'm hoping for better from seasons 2 & 3.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
My issues with this drama were many:
1) A lot of overacting for the sake of "drama". I like Han Seok Kyu (though he tends to play this type of character a lot) and Yoo Yeon Seok was fabulous in the Hospital Playlist dramas, but even they over-acted at times. Tons of yelling by everyone.
2) For the most part, pretty unlikeable characters. It starts in episode 1 when Dong Joo says he wants to sleep with Seo Jung and that he likes her. Why? Dr. Kim is pretty insufferable throughout the whole show, constantly yelling and demeaning the staff. Dong Joo - self-serving person with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon.
3) Romance was half-baked and unnecessary. I'm usually into shows for the romance, but I didn't buy the leads as a couple from the very beginning, and I never had any reason to change my opinion. I had no idea why they liked each other, I felt that she was playing him a lot of the times, and I actually got mad during the bonus episode when she was saying that she was "letting him go", thinking that he was going to the US. She was very immature.
4)The storyline was fragmented. Seo Jung has hallucinations and tries to kill herself. She had no business being in the hospital environment until she had gone through extensive therapy. Master Kim demotes her to intern, but she's allowed into surgery. The small hospital was associated with the big main hospital (the staff came from the main hospital to the small hospital) yet no one knew Dr. Kim was there? I mean, you can change your name, but background checks still need to be done.
5) I felt that the medical aspect of the drama fell very short of the mark. There was no getting to know the patients (I refer to Hospital Playlist that shows how to do it right). The patients were just moved through to show the medical team in one crisis after another. Almost EVERY patient needed CPR. I was tempted to make a drinking game of it (and I don't even drink!) - every time someone does chest compressions on someone, take a drink! This show was from 2016 - was the timeline in the show supposed to be different? Because the AIDS storyline was ridiculous for 2016. So much more had been discovered about AIDS and caring for patients. This might be different in Korea, but in the US public hospitals can't refuse to treat people. Then there's the fact that Dr. Kim had a pretty severe wrist injury (which there was no scar from), he could hardly move his hand, but he was insisting on doing surgery. Granted he backed down, but it never would have even come to that. There is a case in an early episode about not treating patients if you don't have privileges there, but this rule is thrown out the window in the last couple of episodes. Then, there was cross-contamination going on in the operating room by handing instruments over open wounds, crossing arms in front of themselves to get instruments, etc. Granted, maybe it only bothered me because I'm in the medical field and it wouldn't have bothered others.
6) The bad guy. and his henchmen. I felt like he was evil for the sake of being evil, I didn't get the motivation. I was also bothered by the fact that he had people in the small hospital as spies for him, and no one seemed to notice.
7) Kim Min Jae as Park Eun Tak was criminally underused. Hopefully that will be rectified in Season 2, if I can manage to get through it.

I realize that I am a minority of one with my feelings on this show, but it's been quite a while since I've watched something that has made me say "that's time I'm never getting back".

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I can't stress it enough, watch this!

It's been a while (sadly) that I've been able to watch something and totally enjoy it. I was starting to think I'd never get out of my drama slump. I watched this, mainly for Jung Kyung Ho, who is always a treat. He was exceptional, as always, but I loved the rest of the cast as well. This drama was well-written, and I loved that each story line, for the most part, just had an episode or so. I felt invested in most of the stories. There were funny parts, which weren't forced, and heartfelt moments that had me tearing up. The ML was a complete jerk at the beginning, and his transition from that to a caring lawyer was a joy to watch - especially since you never quite knew where he stood. It had a great ending, and, I never say this, but I wouldn't complain about a second season.

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool romantic, but I was so glad they didn't try to force that on us. This drama, for me at least, felt "clean" for lack of a better word. It didn't have any extraneous stuff that just wastes time and has you reaching for the remote to fast forward. It's been a long time since I felt, "Okay, I can do with less sleep, I'll just watch one more episode."

I did have a couple of issues, things that probably wouldn't bother the masses.
1) It's rated MA, and that's got to be for the language. I hate cursing and find it completely unnecessary and jarring. Plus, when you hear it, and see it written out as well, just not a fan. Has anyone, in the history of tv/movies, ever said, "I loved that show, I just wish it had more cursing in it."? It's become so commonplace that the masses are de-sensitized to it.
2) I loved ALL the actors, but after you watch enough shows, you see the same actors, and you know immediately who the bad guys are.
3) This is not a problem with the show, but with the subbing. It's kept moving from the top to the bottom of the screen and it was white wording, which was often on a light background and hard to read. If I could just get a handle on the Korean language, this wouldn't be an issue for me.

So, at the end of the day, I have sincere thanks for everyone involved in this drama for getting me out of my slump.

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If this show doesn't make you laugh, nothing will!

I have watched all of Run BTS numerous times, and I'm sure I will again. It's fun and chaotic and will make you forget about any problems you are having, at least for a little while.

I started watching this as a baby Army and it gave me the perfect opportunity to learn more about each of them, as well as watch their friendship. I think they are uber-talented, and I hope to actually be able to go to one of their concerts before I'm too old (I'm 67, so time's a wasting!), but I'll be honest, when I watch this show, I think I'd be perfectly happy to sit in a corner and just watch them interact with one another.

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Time I'll never get back

This is just my personal opinion, please don't come at me. I will say, I was one of the few that didn't like My Beloved Summer at all - if you liked that show, you will probably like this. It had the same feel.

My biggest problem with this show is that I found it extremely boring. I was mad at myself throughout for being someone that has to finish things I start, because dropping this show was something I should have done.

I love Choi Woo Shik, but I didn't buy him in this role at all. I spent a lot of time thinking that he was miscast. I struggled with Park Bo Young (another actor that I really like). I just felt like she wasn't committed to the role, or didn't know what to do with it, or something.

So, again, if you watched and liked My Beloved Summer, give this one a try.

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Well-written

The rating is based on my personal enjoyment, not on the intrinsic value of the drama. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so please be kind. If you disagree (and you probably will), please just move on.

Are you one of the C-drama fans that has actually not watched this show, and you are wondering if you should watch it? You definitely should. It is a standout in the C-drama genre. I watched it a couple of years ago and rated it lower. Who knows, if I watch it a couple of years from now, I may enjoy it even more! There is no question that it is, overall, very well-written. The cast was excellent. I especially loved the father/father figure. There was laughter, there were tears. The music helped draw out the emotions of certain scenes.

This drama is, for the most part, about what makes a family. It explores blood relationships, found relationships, and the strength of true friendship. It addresses actions and their consequences. It also speaks to the results of those consequences on others. We don't live in a vacuum, and what we do affects others, whether we like to think so or not. Then, there is the issue of anger/trauma and forgiveness.

The only reasons I couldn't rate it any higher for myself:
1) Too many episodes and some storylines that could have been cut - for example, the woman that kept trying to set the dad up with someone. Also, the constant back and forth of the two girls and their mothers' disapproval of their career choices.
2) Too much changing of who likes who, especially among the friends.
3) Romance fell flat. It wasn't supposed to be the focus, I know, but they never seemed to be more than friends. Even at the end, she still called him Brother. There was an episode or two that tried to develop this, but once they were together, they didn't act any differently than before.
4) I realize that this is a cultural thing, but letting your parents walk all over you for your entire life leaves a sour taste in my mouth. There's a difference between respecting your elders and being a doormat.
5) The parents' actions traumatized their kids enough that they were having nightmares, insomnia, etc., but, with a word, all was forgiven.
6) Regarding above-mentioned trauma - resolved too easily. Counseling wouldn't have gone amiss.
7) Both brothers thinking they like her, but one gets over it in a couple of days. Personally, with their closeness while growing up, I couldn't understand either of them liking her in a romantic way.
8) The ending was flat for me. Especially after sitting through 40 episodes.

Bottom line? I am definitely in the minority here, and I will still recommend this drama to others.

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Minority opinion here

I'm all for a comfort drama, but all I could think about throughout the whole show was, "where the heck is the romance?" When romance is listed first on tags, there should be romance! No chemistry, they held hands at the end. When does a show go from slow burn to watching paint dry?

The FL spent most of the drama apologizing. The ML spent most of the drama just there, not doing much. There was the typical trope of a woman that's liked him for years and can't admit that she's in the friend zone.

And don't even get me started on the families! The 2FL's dad almost kills her, and her grandmother wants her to lie so he doesn't go to jail?! It would have been a perfect opportunity for him to dry out. That whole storyline really bothered me. Then, toward the end of the drama they at a murder mystery that just comes out of nowhere and doesn't add anything.

I did, however, really enjoy the young second couple, and once they all became friends. There were really a lot of not very nice townspeople.

Add to that, Netflix gave up on subtitles four episodes before the end. Thankfully it was on Viki, even though I felt it was a waste of time anyway.

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Emotional story

I wasn't going to watch this movie. It looked depressing, there seemed like there was going to be a lot of violence in it, and those aren't the types of shows I like. Well, I'm going to have to modify my first impressions, for sure.

The story itself it heart wrenching. Have you ever known anyone that, no matter what they did or tried, they continue to live under a black cloud of misfortune? That was Kiwan and Marie both. They lived lives that we can't even fathom, the kind of lives we wouldn't wish on anyone. This was a story about going on, about not giving up, and also about the strength we get from others. There is romance, but it isn't about the romance at all. That seemed secondary to me. If this is something that matters to you, it has a good ending.

The acting was amazing. Song Joong Ki was mesmerizing, not only from the fact that he looked completely different than anything else I've seen him in, but his deep quiet voice, his economy of movements and his soulful eyes brought Kiwan to life. I really felt for him and kept wanting things to get better for him.
Choi Sung Eun as Marie. This was a character that we've seen in countless dramas, but she played the part without the extreme hardness that I've seen elsewhere. I was rooting for her almost from the beginning, wishing she could catch some kind of break. The love between Kiwan and Marie actually redeemed both of them.
Jo Han Chul as Marie's father. He's very versatile. If seen him in many things where he's the comic relief, or the bumbling fool. I saw his in something else as a psychopath. In this movie, he was a man living with his grief, trying unsuccessfully to have a relationship with his daughter.

The cinematography was interesting. It was darkly filmed, to go along with the darkness of their lives. Early on, on the few occasions that we it lighter, it was more of an artificial light, the kind that gives skin a yellowish hue and you can't tell what color things are. Counteract that with the ending, out in the sunshine (and freedom), it was very effective.

Though they were supposed to be in Belgium, shooting actually took place in Budapest, which was a treat for me after vacationing in Budapest.

My only complaint was the translation done by Netflix. I don't speak a lot of Korean, but "thank you" is not "I love you". Also, when they were attempting to speak English, by saying "I do not speak English", Netflix translated it as "I don't speak French", and then when they were speaking in Korean, the subtitles said, "Speaking in English".

Don't pass over this just because it's not your usual genre. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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Not for me

I'll say up front that you should give this show a try yourself and come to your own conclusions.

This was a really hard one for me to rate. My rating is based on the way this drama made me feel. I found myself unable to separate my feelings from the overall intent of the show, thus the low rating. As I feel I have to say so people don't attack me, this is just my personal feeling/opinion. This rating serves the purpose to remind myself what I liked and didn't like about the drama.

Story: Very interesting concept. I thought the way the story was woven together, with people's lives intertwined, was well done. As you go further into the story, we find Yi Jae inhabiting bodies of people that he's encountered before. We also see that his downward spiral was the result of his first encounter with someone's death. This drama embodied the concept of "every action has an equal and opposite reaction". I thought the story became more meaningful when it was personal, concerning his girlfriend and his mother. I just couldn't get past all the evil/darkness/bullying/violence. I probably would have enjoyed it more if time was taken to develop some of the characters more, to see why they became the way they did.

Acting: Can we just talk about the cast? I'll admit, that's what drew me to this drama. Each person was excellent in their own right, but the standouts for me were:
1)Kim Mi Kyung as Yi Jae's mother. I love this actress in everything she is in. Here, she embodied someone carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders after her son's death. Her slightly stooped posture, her slow, mincing gait, and her facial expressions (or lack thereof) showed us that she was walking through the world by herself, after losing the person most important to her. I felt her despair. Watching her face, her flat affect, a lone tear running down her cheek, it seemed that it was all she could do to just keep living.
2)Seo In Guk as Yi Jae. I'll admit that he's one of my favorite actors. Here, he hit all the emotions (even if there were only brief moments of happiness shown in flashbacks). Anger, fear, frustration. Watching him moving from hopeful to hopeless, wow.
3) Kim Ji Hoon as Park Tae Woo. Sociopath? Psychopath? His portrayal of an evil man masked as a successful businessman just gave me all kind of creepy vibes.

This was filmed in a very dark way. I understand that it was part of the whole experience, but some scenes were so dark, that if you watch it in a well-lit room, you won't be able to see what's going on. So, watch it in the dark.

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It's a 30-minute movie on YouTube

I happened upon this gem quite by accident. I almost don't know what to say. Start with the fact that Park Hyung Sik is in it, need I say more? But that's not the point (well, not totally).

This film was quiet, slow and calm. It was beautifully filmed in blues and grays with filtered and hazy camera work. Close up camera work made me feel like I was in the world of the visually impaired. We only got a token look at a couple of the characters because of the time constraints, but this film demonstrated the difference between assisting those with disabilities and pitying them.

I loved seeing all the classmates interact with one another. I appreciated those that are willing, able and have the heart to work with the disabled. Also, the hidden heartbreak - pay special attention to when the middle schooler is taking a picture of his mom - her face just brought me to tears.

I was tempted to rate it a little lower because it WAS so short, but then thought that they probably would have made it too long anyway, with too much filler, and all the magic would be lost.

This is one I will definitely be revisiting.

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I liked it, but...

I don't care for bullying, corruption, violence, and gore. If you like all those things, definitely give this show a watch, because it is extremely well-written. It's fast-paced (a little draggy toward the end), and pretty interesting throughout. There's a lot going on at all times, and I think you'll have a hard time deciding who is worse, humans or demons. This drama really highlighted man's capacity for evil. Personally, I think there was too much evil coming from too many places. It might have been better if there had been one Big Bad, as opposed to multiple bad guys.For the aforementioned reasons, my rating is lower than I'm sure most people think it should be.

However, can we just talk about the cast? I'm a sucker for found family, and this drama really did a good job of demonstrating that. The Counters are people that, in normal circumstances, might never even travel in the same circles, let alone be friends. Once they got together, they truly were a family, bickering and all. The bickering was so great, because that's what real family does, "I can badmouth you because we're related, but no one else better say anything bad about you!" There were numerous emotional scenes that really worked - they made you feel their pain, but they also brought something that made you root for them.

Cho Byeong Kyu as So Moon - he's the newest Counter. He did amazing things with this role. His grief, his anger, his disability, and portraying teenage hormones all worked together to make him so interesting. He's a beautiful crier. Trying to learn his powers, then trying to control them, often skirting around what Counters are allowed to do. I loved his relationship with his grandparents, as well as his school friendships. The transfer of power from them taking care of him, to him watching out for them was really good. Also, I liked that, for the most part, he and Ha Na had a sibling relationship, and the writers didn't try to force a romance.

Yoo Joon Sang as Mo Tak. He's the strongest Counter. His character seemed to be the most fleshed out, since a lot of the show was about corruption, and he had been a cop. The romance aspect was a waste and completely unnecessary. He becomes the father-figure of the group of Counters, and he had some amusing scenes.

Kim Se Jeong as Ha Na. Angry Counter (that's what I called her). She had a chip on her shoulder a mile wide. She doesn't like to be touched, she doesn't attach to people and she's got that "keep away" vibe going on. First, this role was completely different than her role in Business Proposal (of course!), and if I didn't recognize her voice, I might not have known it was her. This was a character that, if not played well, you would totally hate her. She made it work, and I enjoyed watching her coming to terms with letting others into her life.

Yeom Hye Ram as Mae Ok. I hated her so much in Goblin and loved her so much here. She was the mom of the Counters, looking out for the others. She formed such a strong bond with So Moon, and when she had to heal him of his wounds, that just wrecked me. I loved her character.

There were some beautiful songs in the OST. As for re-watch - no. I'm not even sure I'll watch The Uncanny Counter 2. Just a little too much darkness for me.

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I couldn't get past the student/teacher relationship

This show was totally played for laughs, thankfully, but still... why couldn't they have made her just a few years older than him, but still in school? The low rating by me is pretty much due to this, it was uncomfortable for me to watch. That said, you should try it if...

1) You want somewhat over the top humor.
2) Don't mind overacting (purposeful in this case, I think)
3) Like the "fated to be" trope
4) You are in the mood for something light to watch, without angst
5) You don't like 2FL storyline. There is one, but it is resolved really well
6) You like to watch shows about friendships and the importance of friendships
7)You like some fantasy in your shows. I mean, she thinks she's in love with a manga character!
8) You like a cute ending.

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Rating number is based solely on my lack of enjoyment

Up front I'll say that this show is a slow, slice-of-life comedy/drama. Wonderful cast. I loved the idea that they all grew up together and lived in the same alley. We got to see their day-to-day lives. I LOVED the scene where they kept taking side dishes to the others in the alley and it became a seemingly never-ending travel from house to house with side dishes. They knew each other so well; they didn't knock before entering the houses of others. That's the kind of closeness that's developed over the years, creating comfort for all involved. Every character had their flaws, but they also had redeeming qualities (except perhaps the FL's sister, she just wasn't a nice person). I can totally see why the rating for this is so high, and why people liked it, but I didn't care for it.

I loved the character of Jung Hwan. He was fascinating to watch. Still waters run deep. This character was like watching a cautionary tale of what happens if you play it safe all the time, if fear or insecurity drives you, relationship-wise.

What I didn't care for:
The FL - I felt that she played the character over the top a lot, with a lot of shrieking, screaming, crying. This actress has a very expressive face, but it just felt like too much to me. She liked one person, then another, then another.
The romance storyline. None of it felt natural to me. I wasn't seeing/feeling chemistry. And I definitely didn't agree with who the FL ended up with, that's all I'm going to say.
SO MUCH yelling and hitting between all of the characters. Parents hitting kids, sisters hitting sisters, friends hitting friends. And in the midst of all the hitting was all the yelling.
WHAT was with the goat sounds. That was SO overused!
The "grown" FL and ML. To me, they were too different than the characters we'd been watching.

If you like slice-of-life, give it a try. It might also be enjoyed more if you don't binge watch it, but savor each episode.

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