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Less "second-chance romance" and more about "closure"
I really liked the slow and quiet vibes of this drama, but it does it so much at the cost of stagnating the plot, and I think I ended up being really confused.The first few episodes were really great; I think the leads have great chemistry and were really cute in the high school scenes. They were both quiet characters but had distinct personalities, so it was nice to see two little introverts fall in love. I also just liked that none of their family situations were spelled out for us — we learned about them, slowly, through dialogue.
After the leads met again, I still really liked their chemistry. They both did yearning really well, and once again, the quiet vibes really let us just wallow in their lingering feelings.
As the episodes went on, I STILL really liked the quietness, but it became pretty obvious that the plot was missing movement, and the vagueness started working against the drama's favor — it became really confusing what events had happened in the past for the leads to get to this point, and when they were fighting or upset I wasn't really sure why.
I'd gone into this one thinking it was going to be a second-chance romance, and I kept thinking that once they promised that they would try to be more accommodating and not let distance and timing be an obstacle. But then, in the last two episodes, the leads barely have ANY screentime together, and it became pretty obvious the show was going, instead, for the lesson "sometimes people just can't be together even if they love each other, but it's important to end things warmly."
So, spoilers for those who haven't seen this yet: it's NOT a happy ending. I don't mind this, honestly, but I think the show took far too long to decide what it was trying to do.
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So cute!
I'm a sucker for noona romances and this one really hit the spot. The ML is stubborn but passionate while the FL is practical and strong-willed — they're very golden retriever bf and black cat gf which is one of my favorite dynamics. And the chemistry between them is so good, whether it's skinship or them just sitting on the sofa and talking about dreams and goals.I do wish we got a little more about the FL on this point — she's a coach so the show follows the ML's dreams more and we don't really see if she has any further career goals other than finishing the postgrad program she's already a part of. On the ML's development, I also think the show kind of drops the ball in the final act. We just needed to spend time on one more important competition where the ML could face rivals that the show had been building up, instead of the overseas arc we got.
Regardless, I thought this was such a fun watch and the leads made me giggle and kick my feet. I might need another noona romance to fill the void.
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Well-written but slow
It's objectively well-written but I'm not sure if I really connected to the characters on an emotional level.The pilot episode is fantastic and the overarching plot is really interesting, and it's supported by characters that are very layered. The show is supported by extremely strong performances — especially Lee Seung-gi's.
While I think the premise is interesting, the pacing did feel a little slow at times. There are some good twists, but the big whodunnit seems pretty obvious from the start, and we're just waiting to get there. I'm not sure if the show needed to be stretched into 20 episodes. Perhaps it would've worked better as a weekly watch, but there wasn't quite the "race against time" tension that I wanted.
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Intense
I knew this was going to be a fantastic movie considering all the rave reviews (and the fact that the director also gave us Oldboy), and it didn't disappoint. The Handmaiden is beautifully shot and beautifully acted. It's simultaneously depressing and full of hope, and it's extremely intense throughout.Was this review helpful to you?
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Light-hearted, but might've been better as a drama.
Not really my type of humor (which seems to be often my issue with the comedy genre, especially those from Taiwan), but it has a few fun moments and a decent story.Pacing-wise, it feels very bloated for a film and the tone jumps around a lot — I often thought this might've worked better as a drama paced similarly to Oh No! Here Comes Trouble, which sort of did a better job of balancing different tones and exploring its characters.
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Not for everyone, but worked for me
I know this won't work for everyone — especially if someone's coming into this expecting a simple rom-com or melodrama — but it actually really worked for me, twist and all. It's realistic without feeling watered down, and I found that the story provided surprisingly thought-provoking commentary on perspective-taking.Was this review helpful to you?
My heart
I've previously watched the Taiwanese movie and drama so I already knew what the plot was, but there hasn't been a version of this story I haven't cried at. I've got a soft spot for the Taiwanese film just because I watched it first, but this one still tugged at all my heartstrings and made me shed tears.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet little sports drama
For something that came in the early 2000s, this drama is surprisingly down-to-earth and grounded. The leads have fantastic chemistry and I really am a big fan of the fun little banter that they have, while also having very mature conversations.There are some moments here and there that do show this drama's time — some lines that don't age too well — but ultimately I found this show pretty sweet.
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Confusing
I absolutely loved the first season — it hit all the emotional beats and had a fantastic balance of political, social and emotional arcs. I was really looking forward to this season, and while I think it has some really strong moments, it ultimately felt more confusing than anything to me.There are a LOT of characters and I don't think any of them really stood out to me; it doesn't help that the timeline seems very muddy. The arson incident is not really given enough weight that clarifies exactly what happens "before" and what happens "after," and I also just missed the journalism and legal fall-out we saw in S1. This season seemed to go for more of a political perspective, but it didn't seem to be tied to the incident directly, and was instead just there as a more general backdrop.
Ultimately, I still liked a lot of the social commentary this season tried to give, but I don't think the story was told in a very memorable or clear way.
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Nice case-of-the-week
Another case-of-the-week jdrama, similar to Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇 or Don’t Call It Mystery. I feel like the cases in this one weren’t as memorable though (barring the LGBT one, which made me cry).The strongest part of this one is probably our trio of main characters, who have a really cozy dynamic together. One thing I would ask for though would be for the climax to hit harder — I’m not sure the big, personal case at the end really hit hard enough for me. Still, I could see this being a show that could go on for many more episodes as they went through different cases.
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Feel-good
I don't watch a lot of historical dramas but I found this one modernized in a way that made it very easy to get into and easy to love. The balance of humor and serious topics was done really well, and I will always love a drama that also focuses on female friendships — especially one that subverts the evil second female lead trope. The communication between the leads from start to end is very refreshing, and it made this drama a very pleasant watch overall. The leads are super cute.I do wish a little bit that the romance developed more slowly. The pacing isn't bad by any means, but they get together pretty early considering how many episodes the drama is. Still, this was a really delightful watch overall. If more historical dramas were like this, I would tune in more.
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Mainly cinematography
Beautiful cinematography, though I'm not sure the time travel aspect really worked for me. It's a trope I typically like, but it felt kind of misplaced here. Everything does fall into place at the end but ultimately I think I needed either a little more exploration of the fantasy mechanism itself if it was going to be used.Was this review helpful to you?
Surprisingly adorable and enjoyable
I didn't realize that each episode was only 3-5 minutes when I started watching this, but everything was surprisingly solid, from the pacing of the story to the growing romance between the characters. Despite touching on some heavy topics, this drama is light-hearted in a comforting way and the lack of annoying villains or drawn-out misunderstandings is refreshing. I'm not one to rewatch things but this would be a great one to re-binge considering how short it is.Was this review helpful to you?
Steady
A very steady and consistently written season, though I think season 1 was just a little stronger in terms of both the mystery and the relationships between our main characters. I personally preferred the episodes where stakes felt a little higher and closer to home — the earlier ones in this season where our lead was getting falsely accused and trying to get there before the next kill.The story loses a bit of steam as it goes on and the backstory turns out to be kind of predictable, but I thought everything was wrapped up pretty neatly.
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Comforting
Oh I enjoyed this one so much. It has to be one of the best slow burn shows that I've seen, and I loved how much it focused on the emotional aspect of them growing closer. Their scenes feel so down-to-earth, realistic, and intimate, and I really appreciate how even the tropes don't feel tropey.It's so sad that it ends on a low note — and I know season 2 is a long shot at this point — but honestly, the ending doesn't diminish my love for the show at all. I've grown to really care about both main characters so much, and I'll definitely be reading the novel just to see how their story ends.
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