rachel
Singapore
At first instance, it gave me a True Detective vibe, which shows the ambition of the show from the get-go.
For once, there were no overwhelming loveline in the story. Just a overwhelming sense of tragedy and injustice, which is precisely what the audience SHOULD be feeling, because those are exactly what drive our main characters forward throughout the show. Police corruption and injustice seem to be popular topics to cover in Korean dramas, but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that wrongs must be made right.
The writing was not simplistic at all; the storylines are tightly woven together and the stories are carefully told and not laid out all at once to force-feed the viewer with information. The writer gives it to us bit by bit and allows the story to unfold naturally, so the viewers can come to a gradual realization of the real horrors of the injustices. I was totally hooked to the show to the very end; it genuinely kept me coming back for more after each episode.
The 3 leads are not actors you see often on TV so it was a real bonus to have them join this project. Each one of them did a great job, especially Jo Jin Woong, truly the star of the show. It was also great to have, for once, a strong female character who was placed front and centre of the show, NOT for the sake of having a lead female character. She was a capable detective who HAPPENED to be a woman. Isn’t that fab?
Clearly from the above, I highly highly recommend this show for a gripping and rewarding watch.
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No doubt, the drama has a pretty American feel to it, but with a distinctly Korean feel to it, with prosecutorial corruption, corrupt businessmen and bribery all round. For a legal drama it isn’t exactly super realistic, but then again since when have we had a realistic legal drama on TV.
The writing of the ‘good wife’ character is really compelling. She is pulled in a thousand different directions, when all she is trying her best to do is stay true to herself.
The show has assembled an amazing cast, especially in Jeon Do Yeon and Yoo Ji Tae, who almost never appear on TV. Jeon Do Yeon immediately wins you over with her portrayal of the dutiful wife thrust into the spotlight, just trying to get through her day prove herself as a good lawyer, and make sure her kids are protected. Yoo Ji Tae, what more can I can say, even as the resident baddie, I find myself cheering for him. He absolutely smoulders whenever he is on screen.
Yoon Kye Sang, despite being a much less experienced actor, is so great in this show as well.
The OST for this show is simple, like a number of quality tvN dramas, I don’t have much to say. But I love the BGM which really lends a movie-like quality to the show, and elevates it beyond your average TV show.
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My favourite story is, obviously, the 29-year-old’s story. Kim Young Kwang and Kyung So Jin’s chemistry is incredible, as friends, to playfully flirting friends, to being more than lovers. It’s also one of the better friends-to-lovers stories in the Korean dramas I’ve seen.
The most frustrating characters are those in the 39-year-old’s story. It felt like there was little movement or development of their characters. It’s not the actors’ fault, but likely lies in the writing. Really enjoyed Oh Jung-se’s acting here.
First time seeing Sungjae acting, and he did a pretty decent job.
Another standout feature of this show is the music. Clearly each song has been lovingly chosen to match each scene and the sentiments/feelings of the characters in each scene.
Overall, a really light, guilt-free rom-com watch with sufficient angst to keep you invested and interested in the characters.
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The love story was really not very convincing, but OK, I rolled with it anyway.
The ending felt like the writers had run out of ideas and just decided to write a WTF-worthy ending for us.
On the technical and behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, the first episode featured a few really bad editing screw-ups, including terrible, terrible CGI. Joo Won also looked extremely exhausted by the end of the drama. Very obvious that the live-shoot system caught up with the show by the end of it.
A plus point is that this show features strong female characters, who aren't simply helpless damsels-in-distress crying out for the male characters to rescue them.
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My main gripe were with the two main characters. Jung Seok the male lead was played well by Ha Suk Jin. But he was pompous and quite a jerk throughout the show, and I wasn't sure by the end of the drama whether there was real evolution and development of his character for the better.
The lead female character, Hana, frustrated me a majority of the drama. She was the polar opposite of the lead male character, Jung Seok, but not in a good way. She is sweet, sincere, earnest, but too much of a doormat, allowing Jung Seok to tread all over her in the workplace and all over her ego. I got pretty frustrated with her throughout the drama.
What I enjoyed most about the show were the trio of students, Dongyoung, Kibum, and Gong Myung. They are the real heart of the show and it seemed that most of the plot centered on their highs and lows of student life. Their storylines were equally amusing and moving and seemed very relatable for the youth of today.
While this is show is supposedly in the same vein as the Let's Eat series, which centered on single working adults living alone, I appreciated the decision to take a slightly different direction for this show, to focus on the civil service exam study-cram community, which hasn't had its time in the K-drama spotlight yet.
Overall it is worth a watch for some light and fairly breezy entertainment.
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There were funny moments in this movie, though my enjoyment of the movie was marred by some really substandard English subtitles online. In terms of story, it isn’t terribly predictable, but the turns in the narrative arc are rather obvious and quite disjointed, so there’s a minus point in my books there. The movie has some pretty visuals in some scenes.
Cha Tae-hyun is comfortable playing a character who is lonely and eccentric, but does not lack emotional depth. Nam Sang Mi was just okay.
This isn’t a movie that made a deep impression on me, nor is it one that I would rewatch. But it’s not a bad way to entertain yourself on a boring weekend.
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This show features one of the hottest makeout sessions you will ever see in a Korean drama. But that really wasn't the selling point of the show for me. It was the characters.
I just love the character of Normal Oh Hae Young. Precisely because, as her nickname indicates, she is so normal. And for lack of a better word, relatable. She is such an atypical Korean drama heroine, and I feel that this is one of the few truly female-centric K-dramas out there (just because a drama has a female lead character doesn't mean it's female-centric). I mean, even the drama title has her name in it!
Eric's character, Do-kyung, is very much a typical male K-drama lead, but in this show, you can observe real growth and progression in his character, which is pleasing. The supernatural element in his character's storyline is intriguing and definitely an important part of his character and his growth, but it isn't the thing that will stay with me from this drama.
Even then, this show like any other K-drama is definitely not free from angst. After the midpoint of the show, the angst kicks in fast and really hard, and made me wonder, oh man when will the . I do wonder though, if there wasn't a 2-episode extension, whether the story would have been slightly better. The extension was certainly felt, but it wasn't painfully obvious as it usually is in many dramas. But as I always say, the angst usually has a great payoff.
Seo Hyun Jin and Eric have sizzling chemistry, which is not surprising as they're known to have good chemistry with their co-leads in other dramas as well.
Seo Hyun-jin breathed so much life into the Normal Oh Hae Young character and you can just see how much love she had for Normal Oh Hae Young. I first watched her in Let's Eat 2 and I've loved her ever since. Eric is hot, what more can I say. Good actor too.
As for the supporting cast and characters, Jeon Hye-bin was alright; I believe she infused her Pretty Oh Hae Young character with compassion, to win the viewers over from what would have started as a very hostile position against her character, to one of empathy and love. Lee Jae Yoon honestly wasn't given that much material to work with, so it's hard to give a firm comment on his character as well.
Some of the other more 'miscellaneous' characters really steal the show - Normal Oh Hae Young's parents, Soo-kyung and Jin Sang (love Kim Ji-suk so much and wish there was more love for him) with their own little cute but in no way insignificant loveline,
Ben is killing it with these soundtracks; I previously heard her sing on the Oh My Ghostess soundtrack, and she had a great song on that show. She sings the theme song on this show too, and it's fantastic; it's catchy and meaningful too.
After completing the show I wondered to myself why it took me so long to watch this show. So please don't be like me and regret not watching it sooner!
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Let me start with the negative points: 1) Hwang Jung Eum - you will love or hate her acting. I fall in the latter category. It is a known fact among seasoned K-drama watchers that her acting is so over-the-top, most of the time unnecessarily so. She was the main reason I found it so difficult to get through the show.
2) The central romance was not really convincing. It felt rooted in the childhood stories of our main characters, but it didn’t convince me that those childhood feelings translated into adult feelings of love.
For the positive points: 1) Siwon is hilarious in this role. It is just perfect for him and I think it gave him a chance to explore a character with a backstory and more emotional turmoil.
2) Park Seo Joon. I have yet to watch his other projects and I’m definitely looking forward to checking out his other dramas.
3) Notwithstanding a somewhat unconvincing central romance, due to the chemistry between Park Seo Joon and Hwang Jung Eum, there were still plenty of cute moments and fluff to make this a crowd-pleaser of a drama.
I would recommend the show for a fun, light and cute watch.
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The show starts out with talking about ghosts, but the story as so much to say about living life to the fullest and I love that so much about the story. The show, at times, brought me so much laughter, and at other times, moved me to tears.
Park Bo Young and Jo Jung Seok have such sizzling chemistry, bringing to life a script that is already hilarious, moving and overall compelling. Kim Seul Gi brought such delight as the spunky and forward ghost. She was hilarious but also played the emotional moments of her character very well. The three leads really made the show that much more excellent.
I do wish we got more insight into the character of Sung-jae, played by Im Joo Hwan, who also did a great job with his role and gave a really moving and compelling performance. Really hope to see him in more lead roles.
The soundtrack is pretty short but the few songs it had were meaningful and catchy. Quality over quantity!
The story could have been improved in some aspects, as well as the ending and resolution of the central conflict, but I found myself really moved by the show and the growth of the characters, and so I still highly recommend this for a fun and emotionally moving watch.
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Honestly, I don't relate to this mindset, but I really liked Lee Je Hoon, with his portrayal of an awkward and insecure university freshman. Suzy is just alright, since she really didn't have much to grapple with character-wise. Uhm Tae Woong deploys his usual Uhm-force, and Han Ga-in continues the consistently bland character of Seo Yeon.
I really like the ending. That's all I can say without spoiling it.
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As if you couldn't love Cha Tae Hyun any more, I totally LOVED him in this show. He brought his trademark delivery and humour to the show. His character, however, is another matter altogether. That area could see improvement. Gong Hyo Jin has great chemistry with everyone, as she always does. Kim Soo Hyun was good as always, and his character was pretty amusing, but in some aspects his character morphed into something different towards the end of the show that made me forget what his character was actually about and at times enraged me. Also get ready for several cameos from other celebrities.
Surprisingly, IU's character really stole the show. Her character Cindy was the one who I was cheering for all the way to the end of the show. That's credit to her since she is the youngest member of the main cast of four, but not as much as to the writer for giving her a compelling character.
As for lovelines, the drama poster encapsulates what the show was trying to do and how it was trying to play with the viewers. I became supremely frustrated towards the end of the show because I really just wanted the show to choose one pairing, stick with it, and show us the happy ending.
Despite these complaints, I still tremendously enjoyed the show, because it really is funny. Not just the inside jokes about the showbiz industry, particularly about variety shows, but just laugh-out-loud moments in general.
Overall, a pleasant show with fewer but really looong episodes and an excellent cast.
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Even though this show only has 12 episodes, each episode is easily an hour 5 mins. While I appreciate the show being shorter than usual, thus forcing the writer to be concise and succinct, when you add up the excess 5 minutes from each episode, it adds up to another episode. Just a thought.
Surprisingly, I’ve actually never watched Lee Jin Wook in a drama, only in a movie. Besides just being generally handsome, he did a decent job. I’ve watched Seo Hyun Jin in Let’s Eat 2 and she’s one of the reasons I decided to watch this drama. She is really good in this show too.
Yonghwa doesn’t have a great reputation as an actor. Although it was really obvious in this show that he’s still a newbie at acting, he definitely showed a marked improvement. I’ve never watched Yang Dong Geun act, only in Return of Superman, and I was greatly entertained by his character in this show. Park Hae-jin is good but really he doesn’t have that much material to work with.
I’m not that familiar with Korean history but from what recaps I’ve read, it seems like the writers did a good job. It is a really stylish sageuk. The filming style is sleek and impressive.
Overall, the show is an entertaining saguek.
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