natyok9378

Little did I know that this drama that just kinda popped up on my Netflix page would become one of my favorite dramas of the year. God, I loved every second of this.

This may be a bit controversial, but I think people might be putting S1 on a pedastal a bit too much? Like, S1's story had a good structure in how it gave out information and how the full picture only became clear towards the end, but I think sometimes people confuse this structure with the actual quality of the story itself. Because that story wasn't really anything special? People say they lost the plot, but did they really? I don't think they lost anything of the plot, because the plot was always this basic and ridiculous. If anything, it lost the structure, not the actual plot. This drama was always going for entertainment over logic imo. I say this as someone that loved both seasons, but both seasons have it's flaws, and I really don't think S1 is the masterpiece some people make it out to be. It's kind of annoying when people criticize this season (which is valid), but then make S1 out to be this ultimate masterpiece. But is it really, or are people just letting their nostalgia for that season blind their judgement?

This season really was on a mission to systematically kill as many male characters as possible LMAO.

Jokes aside, I thought this season was good, and I had a great time with it. Idk if it was a good as S1, as they're quite different. I think S1 had the better structure in terms of mystery and keeping you guessing, but I do think S2 has the higher stakes (and had me scared for the characters more often).

Unpopular opinion though, not sure this needs a S3? There's a big world out there, sure, but there's a big chance that plotwise it's just going to be "more war to fight". I also think that in terms of characters, it'll run into problems, particularly with Jin-man. I think ending with Ji-an in charge and Jin-man letting her lead is the ending that we've been building towards for 2 seasons. With that ending, there are a lot of places you can take Ji-an's character (which I'm actually interested in), but I'm not sure the same can be said for Jin-man. Lee Dong-wook might get top billing, but I've always felt like the drama was building towards Kim Hye-jun being the true protagonist. Ultimately, Jin-man acknowledged his mistakes led to where they are now, achieved his goals, and took a step aside. So what more is there to do with a character that achieved everything he set out to do? He can stay by Ji-an's side, sure, but can that last forever? I think that if the drama continues, the only logical way forward for Jin-man is to ultimately die for real, and do we really want that?

Might've been money, and then they killed the wife because she knew too much. I would've liked an actual explanation too, but clearly those two are psychopaths who've made previous victims, so it's not exactly that surprising.

Not gonna lie, the fact that the leads actually divorced caught me off guard. But it makes sense, since as she said, he was just gonna keep hiding things from her to protect her and she would just continue to get angry at that. It was very telling how even in the last 2 episodes he was still hiding everything that was going on from her. Clearly they needed a break, though I feel like the last scene leaves things open just enough so that a possible reunion may be in the cards. There's just something very peaceful about them taking a walk together, and I feel like you can interpret it in a lot of different ways.

I find it hilarious how many people were so convinced that the whole "I'll pay you to get rid of my wife" recording was manipulated with AI or something like that, only for this episode to just casually reveal that he totally said that stuff. Whoops.

Chi-ung's motive is kinda stupid, but I think it actually works. Like, I don't think he's being portrayed as some kind of genius mastermind here, he's being portrayed as an idiot that got in way over his head because he thought he was smart. And that's exactly who he is: a jealous bastard that thought he could control people, who's briliant idea was to hire 2 psychopaths to do the thing he was to chicken to do himself. It's not exactly a surprise all his plans blew up in his face, but I also think that that's what makes him so potentially dangerous now.

I just feel like he's playing the waiting game until Jin-man rescues his son. He'll turn on Babylon the second that happens.

Yeah, this week was definitely set-up for the endgame next week. Have to say, it's a smart plan from the villains, though it also feels a bit reckless at times, but that just fits with Kusanagi's character. Anyway, Pasin didn't kill anybody, so we all know that plan is gonna blow up in their faces next week (and I'm still waiting on the "listen up, uncle" moment).

Idk if they're going for a S3, but I do think it's possible to wrap things up next week, as I'm pretty sure that Babylon will just go for a truce (the only reason we don't have one now is because Kasanagi is crazy). Though I can see them maybe leave things open ended with that mysterious Chen guy.

Damn, episode 4 was crazy lol. They really got all the set-up out of the way in episodes 2 and 3 so that they could then have all hell break loose in episode 4. Have to say, of all the plot twists in episode 4, Woo-jin dying was the most predictable one. Because let's be real, we all knew this guy was toast 5 seconds after he first appeared.

Okay, but Mu-jin's confession sucked lol. I'd reject him so hard if I was in her shoes.

The way I was so hopeful in the first half that the good side of human nature would win out. People were helping each other, protecting each other, and just generally doing a good job at staying alive. But then the cop guy just had to be selfish and ruin everything. This isn't even really a criticism, it's just human nature, and it's often the most reastic part of movies like this. It's at this point that the already intelligent zombies became smarter than the humans, simply because they're not dealing with emotions. And at that point it's no surprise that only one person ended up surviving (two if you count the wife). Heck, Se-jeong was also arguably the character that was guided by her emotions the least, as she ended up being more guided by the mission to secure the vaccine (even if that initial mission turned out to be a mistake).

He just seems like the kind of character that will die to get Ji-an back in the game. It seems almost too obvious, but I don't see what other purpose he could serve.

Yeah, I really don't think this Woojin is some kind of bad guy or anything like that. That being said, he's totally gonna die lol. His chances of surviving the season are like 5%, and that's on a good day.

Damn, episode 6 was crazy. And here I thought that kidnapping plot would take the whole season, but I'm really glad to be wrong about that. I understood the wife's trust issues, given everything (and that video does look convincing), but I'm glad she trusted her husband enough to get out of there with him. I loved how both of them fought against the kidnappers to escape.

The kidnappers are kinda fun in their own way. It's like they're competing as to who's the most messed up. Very curious as to why the heck they're doing this.

There are like 20 different directions this can go in now, so I can't wait to see what's gonna happen next.

Visually very impressive, but rather inconsistent plot-wise. The story isn't bad, but it also feels like it's build on twists that try to hide that the story is actually very basic. Not necessarily a problem, but a lot of the time these twists end up feeling kinda pointless and never really go anywhere. Just like the drama is also very good at just kinda throwing some lore exposition at you right when it's convenient for the plot, only to do very little with it afterwards. The Most Favored Lady of the Court plot plot ended very anticlimactically just because it was then revealed she wasn't actually the villain. The grandmother is literally the start of all the misery (great twist actually), only for her to do nothing after that reveal, and then the finale just kinda lets her walk away and nobody bothers to stop her (this basically applies to most of the human villains)? That cute little thing we all loved just kinda disappeared out of the drama only to come back when it was convenient for the plot. The FL's arrow shooting skills where introduced out of left field when it was convenient for the plot, only to then never be mentioned again until the finale needed her to do something cool. The ML taking the eyes of a gwi-mae is a very cool idea that literally never went anywhere. There's a whole noble idiocy bit in episode 7 but that's just kinda resolved because the FL says it's all "hers to bear", so what was the point of that?

I wished they had focused more on the leads and their personal backstories, and less on all this palace intrigue when most of it was just not gonna go anywhere. Because while their personal backstories were good, it also just kinda fizzles out because we simply don't see or explore enough of it. It's a shame really, because this is an entertaining drama that really could've been a lot more.

If I didn't know any better I'd be saying the ML was having an affair after the episode 4 flashback opening LMAO. Like, that was suspicious.

But I do like the flashbacks, and what they add. At first glance, the wife makes a rather negative first impression, while the husband just looks like a good guy. Her flaws are immediately obvious, while his aren't. But then with each flashback we get more context behind the wife's behavior, while we slowly see that the husband isn't as flawless as he first appeared. Both are good people, though they're also flawed in their own ways.

I also wonder if that's connected to the kidnapper's motive. Supposedly, the cop's wife was kidnapped because the cop did something bad, though we don't know what. The kidnapper basically thinks that it's their own fault. There has got to be a reason, because I don't think these kidnappings are random, as they appear to be very planned.

I can't exactly blame Se-yun for blaming her husband for their daughter's death. She needed somebody to blame, he wasn't there, so he became the easy target. Obviously not right, but understandable given the circumstances. But what struck me was his utter silence in that moment. Sure, it's understandable and I certainly don't blame him, but I wonder if that's a recurring thing: his silence and avoidance of actually dealing with the problems in his marriage. Even in episode 1 he basically had to be told to try and talk with his wife. What they went through could break even the best marriages, unless you fight for it. But if they didn't, I can easily see how we got to the present day situation. His silence and avoidance only made her resentment grow stronger.

Though it also wouldn't surprise me if more stuff happened. Like, I can easily see how her parents could also be part of the problem.

On the bright side, the theory of her having staged her own kidnapping pretty much went out the window here. Never liked that idea in the first place, so I'm glad. Her actually being kidnapped while her (perhaps soon to be ex-) husband, that she may or may not love anymore, is her only hope of rescue makes for a way more interesting story.

Separated.

Mixed opinions on the first episode. There's some fun moments, and the leads have potential, but then you have all the AI moments, which were so obvious and so fake, that it took me right out of situations that I was supposed to laugh about. Like, how about we focus less on the ridiculous comedic scenes that you can't even pull off properly without using AI, and more on literally everything else?

But can we drop his whole pill usage thing too? I didn't think any of that was funny honestly.