onceiwaskingofspain
Compelling Journalism/Revenge Thriller Burdened by Endless Coincidences and Cyclical Melodrama
Good Things:• The enduring themes. For examination of ethics in journalism, the responsibilities of the free press to the citizenry, and personal vs. professional integrity it's top tier. The secondary themes of justice, revenge, and moving forward are equally well executed.
• The high-end production. Thanks to the screenwriter/director/ML's success with IHYV the previous year, it had a big budget and it shows. It looks more modern than most 2014 dramas and there's some memorable cinematic tableaus that highlight peaks in the story.
So-So Things:
• The genius ML. It was a tired trope even in 2014, and it hasn't aged well.
• The romance. Because of two large time skips, you never really see how or why the leads are in love; the story just tells you they are, and expects you to accept it. The adoptive-relatives angle is milked for every last drop of melodrama, which gets draggy and repetitive with manufactured conflict.
Bad Things:
• The glossed-over conclusion. Things are settled a bit too simply in both the plot and the romance, which is grossly unsatisfying after a long build up.
• The pacing. Twenty episodes was either too much or not enough. It starts slow, picks up in the middle, then zig-zags unevenly until so many sudden reveals and tidy resolutions are packed into the final episodes that the plot gets off kilter.
• The serendipitous plot. The entire progression of events from beginning to end is driven by one unlikely coincidence after another, which robs the characters of growth and agency. Events more often just happen rather than as a result of meaningful choices, which leaves the impact of what should be major developments lacking.
It's a 8.5/10 as a nuanced revenge thriller and around a 7 as a melodrama romance, so somewhere in the middle as a whole. Recommended if you enjoy the classic tonal Kdrama mix of comedy/tragedy/plot/romance and don't mind some wonky pacing, running-in-circles melodrama and a narrative progression that's overall too convenient.
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Timeless Legal Thriller with a Memorable Cast of Characters and a Top Tier Slow-Burn Romance
Good Things:• No one is effortlessly good or irredeemably evil. Everyone gets a story that examines their motivations and allows them the chance to grow and change; even the villains. FL's journey is central, but all the leads share the spotlight.
• If you like slow-burns with a focus on daily life domesticity, tsundere!FLs/steadfast!MLs, witty bickering, role reversals, healing from shared trauma, cohabitation, hurt/comfort, a protective ML with an equally protective FL and helplessly devoted longing, it's top tier.
• Parallelism is used to great effect, both as a rhetorical and narrative device to explore the themes of justice, the cycle of revenge, personal vs professional integrity and the limits of the law from different vantage points.
• Unlike most legal thrillers it doesn't involve chaebol/political corruption, genius lawyers or an episodic case-of-the-week format. Instead it's an arching narrative about how the legal system fails to hear the people that it represents and several people in particular who have to live with the consequences.
• It's an excellent example of the cross-genre complex plots that were hallmarks of Kdrama in the mid-2010s and have been dumbed down ever since: all the niggling details have a purpose and it sticks it's landing at the end. There's also a balanced mix of comedy/tragedy/plot/romance so no one aspect becomes overwhelming.
Either-Or Things
• The age gap. ML is 18/19, FL is 26/27 (int'l). May be deal-breaker for some, though it's more of a 'I would set myself on fire to keep you warm' romance than an overtly sexy one.
Bad Things:
• The cinematography. It has a simple style and high frame rate that looks plain compared to modern Kdramas.
• The pacing. It received a two-episode extension due to high ratings, so the story stretches EP14-18.
Interesting Things:
• Lee Bo Young won the 2014 Best Actress Baeksang for her role as FL.
• The story is loosely based on the fairytale 'The Happy Prince' by Oscar Wilde.
Recommended if you enjoy slow-burn romances with domestic/daily life relationships, idealistic legal dramas, anti-revenge revenge cycles and sweeping, panoramic stories.
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Heartwarming Spy-to-Sitter Journey with a Wack-A-Mole Espionage Thriller Tacked On
Good Things:* The fashion. Apparently everyone in the intelligence community wears fabulous suits and has an obsession with designer handbags; very inconspicuous.
* The found family. ML takes on both a fraternal and paternal role with FL's children, and him slowly opening up and remembering how to live a life on normal terms is incredibly heartwarming. Likewise, FL's friendships with her nosy but supportive neighbors and fellow parents are squad goals.
* The parallel espionage plots. There are two spy agencies - NIS and KIS (the apartment's gossip mill/neighborhood watch) - that each deal with their own intrigues. When they cross purposes, it's a hilarious battle of wits as to who gets what information first.
Either-Or Things:
* The romance. It probably won't be satisfying for most viewers as it's entirely implied and not a major part of the plot. But it has some great dynamics like a mutually protective FL and ML who just want to take care of each other and a 'notice me, noona/sunbae!' SML vying for the attention of SFL.
Bad Things:
* The inept spy-craft. You don't have to be an agent of international espionage to pick out some very obvious flaws, most of which could have easily been better dealt with by the story.
* The tonal/narrative gulf. If it had committed to light-hearted parody with warm slice of life or serious espionage thriller with higher stakes it could have been a great drama, but skirting the line hurt both aspects of the story overall and the final 1/3 in particular.
* The whack-a-mole antics. It's very obvious who the bad guy is, which takes a lot of the thrill factor out of the spy side of things.
Interesting Things:
* There are a few famous scenes from international spy thrillers like Kingsman, Leon: The Professional, and James Bond re-framed on Kdrama terms.
It's a 7/10 as a whodunit spy thriller and a 8.5 as a cozy, domestic slice of life from me, so somewhere in the middle as a whole. If you're looking solely for a thriller, look elsewhere; but for the unique genre blend indicative of Kdramas it's definitely worth a watch.
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All the World's a Stage, and Inspector Koo Puts on a Heck of a Show
Good Things:* The Bechdel test pass. There's no romance, just four distinct and atypical FLs that have complicated and vacillating ties. From FFL's mentoring of her chosen colleagues, TFL's responsibilities to FL and as a single mother to her daughter, SFL's childish dependency on and fierce protection of her loving aunt, and FL's tangled connection to all of them women's relationships with women are front and center.
* The cat-and-mouse conflicts. All of the characters have different agendas and work with and against each other as the story progresses. While there are clear good guys and bad guys, there's also enough moral ambiguity to keep things interesting and a sympathetic, weirdly-endearing SFL antagonist.
* The cinematography. All the world's a stage and there are several plays within a play going on at any given time which is reflected in the cleverly framed theatrical interludes.
* The lack-thereof fashion. FL has an extensive wardrobe of tracksuits and trench coats (with a few variations for more formal occasions). It's partially due to the anxiety and depression, but FL also just refreshingly DGAF.
Bad Things:
* The loose ends. It's set up for a second season and while there aren't any major cliffhangers there are some lingering questions that might never get closure.
* The pacing. Things get mired a bit in the middle while the story arcs are sorted out.
* The LGBTQ romance. It's a surprisingly sweet side story and you'll root for the couple, but they don't exactly get a happy ending and it's a little too close to the bury-your-gays trope for comfort.
Interesting Things:
* It's screenwriter Sung Cho Yi's only Kdrama and was loosely inspired by the UK espionage thriller Killing Eve.
* Lee Young Ae took an extended break after her role as FL in Jewel in the Palace (2003). Samdaing (2017) and Inspector Koo (2021) are her only lead roles since.
A thriller with four FLs front and center is rare both in and outside of Kdrama, and IK pulls it off with aplomb. Recommended if you enjoyed other FL-centric thrillers like Killing Eve or Orphan Black, prefer a healthy dose of black comedy in a high-stakes story and don't mind a few question marks at the end.
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Kdrama Parks and Rec with an Odd Couple Romance and Down to Earth Politics
Good Things:• The no holds barred heroine. She's an underdog in an unfair system - economically, socially, and politically - but she's been fighting back in her own way her whole life. And when she's suddenly in a position to effect change, she hits the ground running and doesn't care who's in the way.
• The P&R-esque plot. It showcases the best and worst of politics at the local level. The ensemble cast of representatives runs the gamut from legacy egoists, pragmatic do-gooders, ambitious social climbers, and semi-witless lackeys. They all have an agenda, and their conflicts with policy and each other drive the drama.
• The romance. ML and FL go from casual adversaries to long-lost friends and gradually progress to more; incredibly satisfying if you enjoy daily life romances that rely on small acts of service and support as well as the occasional grand gesture. There's also a great trope reversal where FL is the boss and ML the secretary.
• The sense of place as character. Between the home base fairy-lit manga cafe, the liminal spaces of bus stops, alleys, food stalls and overpasses, and FL's whimsical secret hideout that overlooks her domain the district FL lives in and represents has as much narrative presence as the leads.
* The witty verbal/visual humor. It has overtones of self-aware mockumentary style productions, but less meta.
Either/Or Things:
• The quirky cinematography. Love it or hate it, it's unique and unforgettable.
Bad Things:
* The narrow focus. It's all politics, all the time. There's romance and slice of life, but if political shenanigans aren't your preferred genre it'll be a slog through large portions of the drama.
* The temper tantrums. FL was a bit of a bully to ML when they were kids and the dynamic carries over into their adult lives in the earlier episodes. They get over it, but it's a bratty beginning to their relationship.
Interesting Things:
* It's screenwriter Moon Hyun Kyung's only Kdrama, though she's a published author of a guidebook on how to get involved in local level politics in South Korea.
Recommended if you like romcoms with meaningful plots, enjoyed the dilemmas and dynamics of Parks&Rec and prefer realistic, slow-burn romances.
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Lackluster Legal Drama and Thrill-less Thriller with a Lukewarm Love Story
Good Things:* The cinematography. Unlike a lot of older network dramas, it had a large enough budget to be entirely pre-produced. This allowed for the use of upper-end camera work, editing and effects that make WYWS feel much more recent than it is.
* The hook. Contagious precognition with a butterfly effect factor is an riveting twist to a legal thriller. The first few episodes do an excellent job presenting its premise, and are overall the strongest part of the series.
So-So Things:
* The romance. Fate tells us the leads are Meant To Be and they just shrug and roll with it. There's some cute domestic/daily life moments in between the legal cases and a few pretty cinematic tableaus, but little meaningful relationship building.
* The tone. Despite the murders, dire dreams and tragic backstories everything is light and breezy. It's understandable that people see it as a comfort watch because the entire drama - even moments that should be high conflict - is mostly one note.
Bad Things:
* The 2D characters. The Good Guys are Just Good; they always win and always make the right moral choices. The Bad Guys are Just Bad; they're there to move the plot along and nothing else. The lack of narrative nuance makes them all seem more like archetypes than individuals.
* The MIA main plot. The legal cases don't share any themes or common threads, and they're unrealistically neatly tied up with any loose ends/consequences either ignored or swept away by time skips. They add nothing to the central story, which ends up endlessly sidelined until all the conflict and resolution is crammed into the final few episodes.
Interesting Things:
* Park Hye Ryun also wrote Dream High (2011), I Hear Your Voice (2013), Pinocchio (2014-2015) and Start-Up (2020).
Recommended if you enjoy straightforward, easy-watch dramas and don't mind some rote characters and storytelling. But compared to PHR's earlier thrillers, WYWS is a pretty pastiche of everything that made them compelling without the same heart and complexity in the narrative and characters.
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Fun Don't-Think-Too-Hard Binge Watch, but Style Over Substance with a High-Concept Veneer
Good Things:* The big budget production. It looks and feels much more modern than its 2016 air date would suggest. The bullet-time SFX have aged well, the cinematography is on point and the transitions/overlays between manwha and real life are lush and dreamy.
* The high concept premise. The sheer existential horror of the man vs god / creation vs creator set-up that drives the early episodes is a powerful hook. It also toys with related concepts like Ship of Theseus, paradoxical free will, and Zeno's Arrow (in relation to time travel) to name a few.
So-So Things:
* The romance. It starts with some unique dynamics but they're never explored and it becomes one of the textbook cases of 'We're together because we're the leads'. You don't really get to see ML and FL build a relationship; they're just thrown into high-stakes circumstances one after another with interludes of sweetness/melodrama.
* The secondary characters. They all might as well be named 'Plot Device' considering their lack of depth and development.
Bad Things:
* The adrenaline fatigue. After a while, the impact of the constant revelations and cliffhangers is hollow, especially since the consequences and implications of earlier situations are often forgotten entirely or glossed over by deus ex machina.
* The lack of internal consistency. Instead of relying on the rules it sets up early on, it continually makes up new ones that contradict both themselves and each other.
* The Jenga-esque plot. There are several key elements that easily could have provided enough material for an entire drama, but they're tossed aside in favor of more and more makjang twists; which results in major holes as well as an undeveloped central thematic narrative. It ultimately tries to do too much with too little foundation, and the story collapses under it's own weight in the final 1/3.
Interesting Things:
* Song Jae Jung also wrote Queen In Hyun's Man (2012), Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (2013) and Memories of the Alhambra (2018).
Scifi/fantasy thrillers are rare in Kdrama and stories that actually engage with it as a subject matter vs using it as a backdrop are few and far between. Compared to genre at large W isn't a standout and it has some serious flaws, but it's worth watching for its (mostly thwarted) ambitions. Recommended if you enjoy fast paced thrillers or glossy high-concept stories and are looking for rollercoaster don't-think-too-hard binge watch.
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Slice of Life Police Procedural That's Sympathetic to Both Law Enforcement and Citizenry
The Good:• No serial killer cat-and-mouse, genius detectives or glory hounds. Police work is everything from dealing with drunks to navigating departmental politics to high profile/high risk cases and it's all treated with the same gravitas.
• You may love-to-hate or hate-to-love some of the cast, but they all have reasons for the way they act and interact with each other and their conflicts and hang-ups stem from more relatable issues than Kdrama tropes.
• There's no easy answer to systemic societal problems and the narrative doesn't pretend to have any. Sometimes people make bad choices, sometimes they make good choices and sometimes there aren't any choices at all; just consequences.
The Either/Or:
• Because of the profession the issues dealt with are more serious than most slice of life dramas.
• The rookie romance love triangle is fine, but it could have been easily omitted without changing anything important in the story or characters; which is usually a sign that something should have been omitted.
The Bad:
• The final episodes take a dramatic turn which doesn't match the tone of the rest of the story. It's not completely over the top, but the main point - that guns can save as well as kill - was already adeptly proven reviously.
• The character stories could have been more tightly wrapped up instead of said dramatics.
Takeaway:
• It's a realistic and relatable depiction of broken people in a broken system trying to help each other without getting too artsy or pedantic in presentation. Highly recommended if you enjoy bleak but hopeful and occasionally philosophical slice of life dramas like Misaeng, Black Dog and My Mister.
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Fun Homage to the Classic Cross-Genre Complex Romcom, But Lacks Depth and Finesse
Good Things:* The communication. For a largely tongue-in-cheek romcom, the leads actually sit down and talk things out at important junctures. They're not exactly good at it, but they try; and that counts for a lot in a Kdrama.
* The dog. Pets getting karmic closure was unexpected and delightful.
* The entourage. ML's ghost employees (and the itinerant guests) are practically a Greek chorus. Their running commentary on anything and everything runs the gamut from hilarious to poignant, and it's the highlight of the show.
So-So Things:
* The hasty closure. The plot has a lot of loose ends to deal with, and the overall wrap-up is satisfying but trite.
* The octave change. Despite the horror/supernatural revenge murder mystery main plot, it's very slapstick until things start getting serious around midway and the shift in the characters and story is jarring.
* The red flag SML. There's a love triangle, and he's a great big 'yikes' of a character.
Bad Things:
* The derivative story. If you've seen Mystic Pop Up Bar, a lot of the narrative elements are going to be very familiar. Which is iffy, because MPUB is an adaptation of a webtoon and the similarity skirts the line between imitative flattery and outright knock-off.
* The episodic vs arching narrative. Both are rough around the edges, and it doesn't quite successfully pull off smoothly integrating them even with the help of an extended flashback.
It's a homage to the complex, cross-genre romcom plots of the mid 2010s. FNOS! doesn't have the same depth as those older dramas, but it's still an enjoyable, nostalgic romp in the medium. Recommended if you enjoyed other karmic supernatural episodic mysteries like Hotel Del Luna / May I Help You? / MPUB, prefer comedies with a serious undertone or fun, frenetic stories with a little bit of everything.
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A Clever Title for a Clever Story That Asks Hard Questions but Never Loses Heart
Good Things:• The genre blend. Part murder mystery and part school slice of life with a legal 'trial' as the bridge, and it pulls off the balancing act with only minor hitches.
• The layered relationships. Bullying/abuse takes many forms - the overtly physical, the slyly social and the manipulatively emotional - and they all play out between different characters.
• The lack of PPL. Least amount of annoying PPL outside of a sageuk.
• The social critique. The bullying/abuse starts with the students, but through the interactions of the administration, teachers and parents it also shows how the same dynamics are ingrained in adult lives as well; with the implication that the behavior is ignored/tolerated in children because it's omnipresent.
• The sympathy for the devil. There's a trend in Kdrama to prefer grossly deterministic villains; ie, a person treated badly becomes a bad person. The characters here are more realistically nuanced, and a few have satisfying redemptive arcs.
Bad Things:
• The cheese. Since it's a teen drama for teens, there's some overly wholesome asides that feel a little hamfisted. Ditto for some over-dramatized drama.
• The cinematography. The downside of almost no PPL; it's a plain and simple small budget drama.
• The instrumental OST. It's too punchy and dramatic at times, which takes away from the overall more thoughtful tone.
Takeaway:
It's not your typical high school Kdrama, but it has most of the recognizable tropes of one with a more mature subject matter and a unique format/progression thanks to the structure of the legal trial. Recommended if you enjoy dramas that interrogate bullying as a societal ill vs focusing on punishment/revenge, like cheesy high-school slice-of-life with a bit more weight and prefer difficult topics treated with compassion and idealism.
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A Beautiful, Meandering Journey to Make Peace with the Past
Good Things:• The bromance. ML and SML share a close and complicated friendship that spans lifetimes. It's given equal weight to and at times overshadows the romance; one of few Kdramas that might give you second lead syndrome with both FL and ML.
• The genre/trope grab bag. Romcom? Check. Political thriller? Sure. Whodunit Mystery? Of course. Ghosts? Yep. Magic? You betcha. Time Travel? Why not? All of it is worked into the narrative, and none of it feels gimmicky or out of place.
• The metaphorical journey. Not only are the leads scarred by personal tragedy, they represent the shared trauma of a nation under occupation. In their struggle to understand and make peace with it, they personify the transition from war-torn past to more hopeful present.
• The red threads. While FL, ML and SML are the heart of the story, there's a tapestry of connection that touches the lives of other characters as well. They all have a part to play in how it all plays out again.
• The vintage fashion. Proof that three-piece suits are always in style.
Bad Things:
• The pacing. One of the most uneven starts in Kdrama, because of...
• The parallel plots. The past is an epic tragedy unfolding, the present is light-hearted romcom where FL, ML and SML all take turns being the third wheel. The two stories feel disconnected at first and take a while to reach equilibrium.
Interesting Things:
• Jin Soo Wan also wrote Moon Embracing the Sun (2012) and Kill Me, Heal Me (2015).
• Kim Chul Gyu also directed Mother (2018) and Flower of Evil (2020).
Recommended if you're a fan of Goblin, bromance, layered narratives or plot-driven romcoms and have the patience for very meandering start as the story gets all its ducks in a row.
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