Sweet cross-cultural story

I've watched several cross-cultural dramas in the past with Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese casts. This is by far the best. It probably works very well because Chae Jong Hyeop seems genuinely to have a good command of Japanese. It's hard to act and relate to your co-star if you can't speak the same language.

The story itself is cutesy and not very well developed but I liked the innocence of their love story. Don't expect too much from the drama in terms of plot or character development but it's a warm and light hearted show - good for a dinner time show.

If I wasn't learning Japanese and Korean, this show would have far less appeal for me and I'd give it a miss. But this show uses easy Japanese and Korean so it was great for me!

One thing I will comment on though, perhaps it's me being too jaded but I felt he was just slightly stalker-ish. She seemed to be resisting him but he was going full throttle. I felt quite uncomfortable with it but maybe that's considered a full-on courtship.

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Great transition to afterlife drama

There have been several similar transition to afterlife stories. I liked the formula of this drama - they have a case of the week that our team has to solve and bring closure to the deceased. That kept the delivery each episode interesting. The 'rules of engagement' (ie rules governing how they operate together eg safe zone, Dae Ri jumping into a human host for 10 minutes at a time, etc) were established early on and stayed consistent, unlike some dramas that bent the rules just to fit the plot or to create dramatic tension or because they didn't know how else to conclude the drama.

In terms of negatives, perhaps the weakest point was the romance between the main leads. There was no chemistry whatsoever and they looked awkward together especially when they had to call each other cutesy names, or kiss or hug. The second couple had far better chemistry (at least no awkwardness) but I'd rather the drama just focus on the cases! Second, the last few episodes were especially draggy when they were trying to develop the romantic relationships rather than resolving things. Third, the OST was boring - they had one song and used that to death for everything - sad, happy, dramatic, etc. I'm not expecting a highly listenable soundtrack like CLOY or DOTS, but we're basically going back to the early 90s with Autumn in My Heart and their one song-one-hit-repetitive-wonders.

In contrast, the chemistry between the four 'team members' was enjoyable to watch. I enjoyed how they worked together with a mix of humour, teamwork, and goodwill to overcome the villians. Overall, it was entertaining and I enjoyed watching it but I wouldn't call it the best drama of the year or even of the genre, not even close.

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Great acting

I have just finished this show. Had put it off because the first 4 episodes were just too tragic and I had to take break until it finished broadcasting then I could binge watch. Basically, the good guys could never catch a break right up to the last episode, so its very frustrating to watch and unless you're a sucker for punishment, I don't know who else would watch it (other than to see more of Cha Eun Woo on screen!) Really glad the whole series only comprises 14 episodes.

The story is middling - nothing really mysterious about it other than brooding young males and overwrought mothers. At the end, you don't get the supreme satisfaction associated with great revenge dramas (e.g. the Glory) where the bad guys get their just desserts - and then some. It wasn't too difficult to guess who was at fault although we did want to find out how and why.

However, the acting is top notch. Cha Eun Woo really CAN act! I was pleasantly surprised after a very stiff performance in a Good Day to be a Dog although he was passable in Island. Perhaps he learnt from one of the best in the business - Kim Nam Joo. I feel privileged to watch another stellar performance from her. In fact, I feel that she's done better this time than Misty.

I'm so glad that this show didn't turn out to be another younger man-older woman romance. Thank god there is NO romance and it's all dark and tragic. That really makes all the actors shine.

Final word: DON'T watch it - for the story. DO watch it - for the acting.

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Why the ratings?

I don't understand the hype. Was there nothing else better broadcasting in this slot? This show has a great cast and the story and acting are ok. But it's certainly not better than or even near Crash Landing (which it is almost matching in terms of broadcast ratings). The 90 minute episodes definitely don't help - it just makes things draggy.

The only three things refreshing for me are that 1) we have a strong chaebol character who is female, rather than the trope chaebol son who meets a poor girl and loves her against all odds. 2) The story revolves around the value of life (without giving too much away). 3) The couple are married rather than most romcoms depicting courtship.

My top peeve is the relative ages of the cast and the roles they've been cast in. In particular, the actor who acts as the grandfather is in reality less than 10 years older than the actors who play his son and daughters. What is with this ageist casting?

The show is high budget enough for me to want to finish (they film in Europe - lucky Kim Ji Won gets to film in all the most exotic locations!) It also has its entertaining and hilarious moments but certainly not worth the hype.

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Watch as an appendix to Part 1

This can more accurately be described as a Part 2 rather than a sequel. It's very confusing if you haven't watched the first Believer. The movie begins with a 5-minute recap of the highlights of the previous instalment, and that's the only bit that was entertaining and made sense. After that, it is just one hot confusing mess. It seems like what happened with the first Believer was that it was such a great show, they decided to eke it out.

This movie is not a sequel because it doesn't carry on from where the first one left off. Instead, it's very weird because it tries to elaborate and explain a back story of motivation for characters in the first one and introduces whole new characters. It is NOT a movie per se but more like watching an appendix. Finally in the last 5 minutes, we finally catch up to where Part 1 left off and then it creates an ending because part 1 ended ambiguously.

I got to give them credit for being able to pull out bits of the first instalment to create a deep enough side story, and then attempt to pull it back to the main story shown in Part 1, and then tie up everything at the end. Hence my rating of 4. It's a real pity that the talents of Han Hyo Joo (who wasn't in the first part) have be under-utilised.

In essence, if you did watch Part 1 and wanted to find out what happened in the end, simply watch the first and last 5 minutes of the entire Believer 2. You can thank you now.

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Into the mind of a killer

This is a FABULOUS show., Starring three greats of Kdrama - Lee Sung Min, Lee Jung Eun, with Yoo Yeon Seok in a role that's a change from his usual romantic man lead. I couldn't wait to watch this.

The show starts off slow by delving into the backstory about the making of a serial killer. Be patient as it soon gets exciting and involves a cat and mouse chase around the countryside as the taxi driver desperately tries to save himself and his family from the monster.

If you love thrillers, this one is for you. If you love mystery and finding out who the serial killer is, don't bother. We already know who the perpetrator is from the get-go so it's more of a thrilling and sometimes gory ride along the way.

Pity about the low ratings because this drama definitely deserves way higher, but the lack of English subs is definitely hampering things. Unfortunately, except for the first 2 episodes, you'd be hard pressed to find Eng subs for this anywhere on the Internet. It's very difficult for me to watch as I have to read slowly in my second language. Other languages (e.g., Indonesian) are also available so I just don't understand why Eng subs are not available. I suspect it's probably something legal-related so we'll just have to see it pan out. Hopefully once the whole show has finished broadcasting, they'll release the English subs.

Updated: I have just finished the show. It now has Eng subs (thank goodness) and thanks to the commenter who alerted me. I feel the show peaked a bit too early. The final few episodes were a bit all over the place and felt very Dexter-esque (the American show about a serial killer that showcases his motivations and attempts to act normal). In such a short series, I wished the show had continued what was good about it to begin with - the cat and mouse chase around the countryside where you didn't know who the cat and who the mouse actually were. However, perhaps the writers needed to find a nice way to tie things up after all the horrendous things that had happened - some characters needed resolution, others needed come-uppence, and others needed revenge.. I feel let down by the writers. Nonetheless, I am still giving it a good rating because of the first two thirds of the show.

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Good wuxia drama

I'm not sure why this drama rates so highly. I like that it's a wuxia rather than xianxia as I prefer the former genre. The story was very fast moving and interesting initially. There was mystery and a whodunnit (or rather who's the real assassin) in the first 10 episodes However, it became really slow moving and draggy in the middle when they were expounding the love stories and back stories of each character.

Since I was already halfway through, I gritted my teeth to finish it. The fact that the show only has 24 episodes in total is the reason that I gave it a better rating - at least I didn't feel that I was (overly) wasting my life watching this! All the main characters were also eye candy - that certainly helped.

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First impressions - Only for hardcore period drama fans

I am a sucker for period drama and especially those that are based on historical figures or events. This show was sponsored by the Korean government cultural bodies so as you can imagine, would be quite realistic at least from a sets and costume point of view. They do state that it is somewhat historically accurate (as compared to a lot of other period dramas) but still to be taken with a grain of salt for dramatic purposes.

I love the character development and plot development so far, but it's really early days. Comparing this to My Dearest which is broadcasting at the same time, this drama is really only for historical buffs or diehard period drama fans, especially of war dramas. It doesn't have the emotions, flair and sympathy that My Dearest evokes with the on-going love story set within the tragic backdrop (at least so far).

There are some nuances of unusual relationships (son - mother and gay vibes; being gay is still not openly accepted in S Korean society today). So if that's not your cup of tea, you might want to give this a miss. In those days, it was perfectly normal for full blood siblings to marry (to maintain the purity of royal blood) so it was a different time and societal norms were different.

Trivia: Ji Seung Hyun has a role in both My Dearest and this. I am starting to feel that he does a better job in period drama than modern drama.

Will update my review again at the end.

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Best mental health drama ever

I don't know why this drama doesn't rate higher. I loved Hospital Playlist and really missed that. This has huge Hospital Playlist feels - the camaraderie between the staff, the going in-depth to understand the context and personal circumstances behind each patient. The staff strive to give patients the best level of care and address their problems not just solve the symptoms.

In addition, this show is about mental health. There's so much stigma surrounding this topic in Asia and particularly with psychiatry (as opposed to psychology).It's great to see a show treat the topic sensitively with the dignity it deserves, yet highlights why mental health is also a valid medical condition and should not be ignore or stigmatised.

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Disappointing frontline responder drama

After watching First Responders, I missed it so much that i thought this would alleviate my longing. Boy was I sorely wrong.

The dramatic started off well enough as it was amusing and action packed but then quickly descended into the usual tropes: three way love stories, corrupt politicians, mafia, rouge hero law enforcers with tragic pasts…

For a drama called the Han River Police, they spend less than 25% of the drama ON said river.

Also for a 6 episoder, it really dragged along. Why is it First Responders can go on for 2 seasons with 12 episodes each yet this is so draggy at a quarter of the episodes? It had better NOT have a season 2!

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Bucking the trend

I'm going to buck the trend and say that I watched the Korean version then decided to watch the Taiwanese version to see what I missed. Turns out I didn't miss anything! So far, the reviewers of this remake can be classified into two camps - those who didn't watch the original and loved it vs those who watched the original and hated this. I'm going to buck the trend and say that I watched the Korean one first and liked it but after watching the Taiwanese one, I like the Korean one even more that I've actually increased its rating!

Why? When I watched the first 2 episodes of this Korean version, I found it draggy but OMG, the first four episodes of the original are even worse! The Korean remake keeps much of the same plot highlights but removes the bits I find super annoying in the Taiwanese version - the annoying attempts at comedy, the super annoying side stories and characters (gosh I really hate the colleagues). Like what's the deal with trying to inject comedy into a tragedy?

This remake just gets to the crux of the relationships between the main leads and important friends. The only thing that bugged me was the Seo Ji Won song - I loved it at first but it got very repetitive and tiring by the third episode. In contrast, the soundtrack of the original Taiwanese was fantastic and well-suited to the plot elements throughout. The Wu Bai song never got old.

In short - just want to watch for the mystery? Watch this Korean remake which has much better editing and is a professional production. Want to indulge in emotions - the sweet love story, the tragedy of love then loss, and endure annoying attempts at comedy which aren't funny - then watch the original which is raw, unpolished (for goodness sakes, mic the actors and remove all the echoey background noise!) but sentimental.

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Is this a teen drama?

I tried so hard to watch this. However, it’s a teen drama and I don’t do HS dramas. If I wanted to watch a HS drama, I would watch a HS drama. Friends told me I have to wait until epi 9 before it gets good. It’s already epi 5 and no Zo In Sung.

Contrast this with the other superhero show broadcasting now, Uncanny Counter 2, which as been action from the get go. (That show suffers from other problems but action wasn’t one of them) No need for patience till almost midway through the season. And 20 episodes? Come on, do better with the editing seriously.

This is also a rip off Fantastic 4 and other broody teenage superhero movies trying to tame their super powers. Heroes, the American TV show, especially comes to mind. This is such a rip-off.

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Love and hate are two sides of the same coin

I have a masochistic relationship with this show. I hate what it does to me yet I can't stop watching. The show is about a couple who are in an abusive and messed up relationship. Things go so badly wrong yet they stay together because of their messed up pasts. They don't want to be together yet they don't want to be apart. They have no one else and so they stay together. They miss each other but don't want to see each other. They love each other for all the wrong reasons and their love often turns into hate. It is often said that it's worst to have no feelings for someone than it is to hate because hate is an extreme (though unhealthy) form of love.

Similarly, I am abusing myself by watching it. So many times I've wanted to stop because the show was so messed up - not because the story didn't make sense (ok, at times it didn't) but because this love-hate dynamic is confusing. And I hate the show for what it did to me - despite wanting to tear myself away from the show, I couldn't stop myself from watching. Why? I already know the ending thanks to some of the reviews here and I know I'm going to be sad yet I still want to finish it. That's the power and the lure of this show that no show has had on me recently.

This show is a study in contrasts. The show is an examination of internal strife and conflict and is tantamount to self-abuse. It is a tortured love. Love it or hate it, it's worth a watch to decide.

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Trope and juvenile

This is a juvenile drama and should be watched as such. It is trope and adolescent to be crushing someone. It is very innocent (or naive depending on your viewpoint) and pure as some reviewers have commented. It is refreshing even compared to some other teen dramas which nowadays focus on difficult themes like bullying or the stress/pressure of academic excellence or suicide ideation. However, I couldn't help but get vibes of paedophilic grooming especially in the first episode with the 14 yo Sang Zhi and developed a strong 'ick' factor.

I seriously don't know how this drama can rate so highly compared to real meaty dramas. I watched hoping it would get more 'adult' and meaty but finally gave up. I really liked Zhao Lu Si and her portrayal of a high school student was spot on. Young love is pure and juvenile and one has to be in the right mood for it. Unfortunately, I'm not.

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A variety show

I seriously don't get the high ratings for this show. The first 'season' (if you can call it that) was an ok watch. I liked the characters, I sympathesized with the Gumiho, Lee Yeon, and I even liked Lee Dong Wook and Kim Bun. Lee Rang was a bit petulant and annoying but when I started to understand his back story, I was sympathetic. However, it certainly wasn't on the same level as Goblin.

I can't say the same about this installment however. The writing was patchy and incoherent. It was like watching Saturday Night Live - Korean. It was a string of disjointed skits and scenes without any real plot, especially in the first few episodes. When I started to get into this 'variety show' (NOT a drama), it was just comfortable watching because of slapstick and light laughs; certainly not full-on har-har comedy.

There seemed to be a distinct LACK of plot. A plot implies a scenario, a mission, character growth, a dramatic challenge, and overcoming that challenge(s). In fact, the only character who seemed to have experienced any character growth was Moo Young - but hello, he's not really the main character!

The only reason I stuck on was because of Lee Dong Wook and Kim Bun. At the end, I was just glad it was all over. And now they want to do a third season set in a different era? So the writers seemed to have stumbled on a winning formula - a time-travelling gumiho who gets into hijinks? Isn't that evidence of a lack of overarching plot direction aka the very definition of variety show skits?

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