Alone in Love

The writer has a good track record of writing good unique shows and this drama was no exception. The drama stood out for its deep rich story and multi-layered narrative, offering a compelling journey through the complexities of life and relationships. Its strength lies in its ability to delve into the human psyche, exploring themes of love, family dynamics, societal expectations, ambition, and identity with a nuanced hand. The drama had a lot of story to tell and explore, yet it didn't feel bloated. The characters went through a tremendous development and growth during its runtime. The drama was filled with great characters and characterizations, each character is meticulously crafted, with their own hopes, fears, trauma and desires, adding depth and dimension to the storyline. I particular liked the subtle humor that lied in their casual interactions and dialogues. However, despite its many strengths, lied flaws that somewhat tarnished some of its brilliance. There were many things that could've been done better but nothing was too major. The entanglement of love square relationship may have lasted for too long and could've been navigated better, though I still love their unconventional dynamic. The drama kind of ended at episode 15 while the last episode was more like a real proper reflection and a graceful send off, I don't think I've seen something like that before in a drama. Despite some missteps and its unconventional approach, the drama remained a strong compelling watch with a star-studded cast.

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Theft At Dawn

While I appreciate its shorter runtime of 10 episodes but I wish it was even shorter for a tighter package. Some side plots didn't fit the narrative and were a mere distraction, such as the female lead's friends personal affairs, not even a good filler. The middle parts were filled with padded sequences. It took a long time before actually getting into what the synopsis describes. From this kind of plot around embezzlement, I would expect somewhat a smarter play and a deeper plot but the drama kept things mostly at a surface-level and borderline making stupid mistakes intentionally to create some tension and invoke a reaction from the viewers. I really like what Kim Seo Hyung has been doing in the past few years, leading projects of characters that fit her are infinitely better than older supporting roles. Anyway, the drama may not rank high but still offers a decent viewing experience for those willing to explore something different.

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Pathetic Themes of Love

The drama started on an objectively stupid and trashy conflict that couldn't have been written by a real human being in 1998. It loosely maximized all imaginary tropes of sadness, depression and angst regardless of how well they can connect them, that's why they slapped a terminal illness in the mix because why not at this point. The drama lacked the slightest minuscule resemblance of any balance. What's even the point? It failed to establish a good argument why the viewers should care, especially for how awful the setup was with both guys. The atrocious attempt to shove in the love triangle and romance of the leads was unbearable and killed any redeeming qualities all at once. This was one of the worst trio leads combination I've seen, surface-level and brain-dead trio entanglement. Forced rape, pregnancy, marriage and domestic abuse by their friend, all treated as something casual and turned a blind eye because exploring any of them, especially rape, would require more nuanced writing. After all of these long-winded commotions the drama shifted its focus to something different within a couple of scenes as if nothing happened. Garbage writing! The female lead was as dry and boring as they could come, easily the worst character in the drama. Even the guests had a better impression. The drama had big cuts and gaps which led to abysmal pacing and disjointed narrative. I had to double check if the drama was actually cut but both TV and DVD releases were the same. At the end of the day, there was a lot to dislike about the drama and little to no likeable elements.

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Morning-After Pill

Something about action dramas from around early 2010s make them unique for better or worse. The drama started off with a big bang, literally, while shoving in the maximum possible amount of flashy elements. If you watch the very first scene it should give you a good idea. However, just like other ones from around the same time, it gradually began to wither away after 5-6 episodes until it reached a bland conclusion. The male lead doubling his role as a comedic relief was mostly fine, but him flailing his tongue like a dog was a bit too cringe to tolerate. The drama really wanted to include romance because it was the trend back then, that's why we had multiple pairings, most of them were unnecessary or weak. The main antagonist was your generic baddie, the drama didn't even show him a lot until the last few episodes because they didn't want to bother with more writing. The vibes were very similar to 'A Man Called God (2010)' which came out in the same year, except this one was a bit better.

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Full House: Resurrections

Core part of the plot was the male lead pretending to be gay as described in the synopsis, however, I'm not sure if this was intentional or not but naming the female lead 'Gae In' was seriously tripping as it was pronounced very similarly to how the characters saying the word gay. Anyway, the drama followed the typical romcom formula of the early 2010s while having a play around the cohabitation of opposite sex and pretending to be gay. This setup spawned all kinds of predictable shenanigans yet they were somewhat entertaining, solely thanks to the leads. While sometimes irritating but they had a good dynamic going on between them. The character Jin Ho was written as a reserved guy who doesn't open up or show his feelings but Lee Min Ho in this drama was way too subdued and static beyond what the characterization mandates for his character, combined with sometimes questionable production, it had created some awkward scenes and deliveries. The drama featured a love square to anchor the drama but this love square was plain stupid. It served its purpose to kick start the story but any involvement after that was a poor decision. I found the ending to be a little bit weak and boring, they played it safe and predictable. Both parents of the leads were brushed off quickly to wrap it up despite being a reasonable point of tension prior to that. Overall, it's a decent watch with nice moments here and there but lacked a lot to be recommendable or rewatchable.

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Real Estate Scam: The Real Scam

The drama paled in comparison to its predecessor, managing to somehow be an even bigger problematic piece than the troublesome first season. From its lackluster plot to its uninspired character dynamics, this spinoff felt like a cheap imitation rather than a fresh spinoff. Gone are the scuffed and endearing dynamics of the characters, replaced instead by awkward interactions and forced romances, resulting in a disjointed narrative that struggled to find its footing. The writing was lazy and contrived, relying on tired recycled storylines, it also shamelessly recycled the exact same jokes and bits from the original, albeit with even far less finesse and charm. Both male leads were unbearably cringe and the female lead was equally doormat. While the original may have had its faults, the spinoff took those flaws and magnified them, resulting in a soulless spinoff that tarnished whatever shred of goodwill the original may have had.

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Real Estate Scam

As per design, this is the usual love square quarrels from the 2000s, following the blueprint precisely but with one major unforgivable flaw. It's expected from this formula to have a loose story not adhering to reality, common sense or logic, in one way or another it blends and enhances its entertaining value to push forward the narrative and dynamics. However, this drama went beyond what the viewers may deem passable in that regard with how they snowballed the setup involving the FL's friends, and her friends existence in general, pure atrocity. I refuse to believe that the writer spent more than 1-2 minutes thinking about the initial setup. Admittedly, the cast is what kept it alive and watchable, from the main leads to the elder cast, absolutely excluding the duo friends. The resolution and the romance in general felt quite distant from the characters, probably because they held it off for too long before establishing a clear communication between the leads which only happened in the last episode. Overall, the drama was just alright.

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Barely Advertisable

At the surface it may seems it's the type of show that goes through workplace cases one after another, while that was slightly true initially, but it was just a drama themed around an advertising agency, or so I thought, initially. After the introduction, the drama began with an advertising assignment then followed by a bigger one with more tension, stakes and clever plays, however, this all happened in the first half while the second half became a regular melodrama/power struggle in a corporate setting, no more advertising assignments. This was unfortunate because the second half couldn't carry the same impact, especially the last 4 episodes. Ah In & Han Na & Young Woo had a great dynamic between each other and those around them. On the other hand, Han Byung Soo was the worst character, his character didn't fit any scene, he lacked a good dynamic and story given that he was close to the female lead, even the actor himself was out of place and a big mismatch to his task. The personal stories were a hit or miss, take for example the female lead story, the writer put little to no effort into her childhood/trauma, everything started and ended with a few scenes which led to a weak resolution to her trauma. It was really disappointing in this specific case after building up her trauma and problems for so long. Han Na and her secretary might be a highlight for some but Eun Jung and her child were a highlight for me. The final wrap up felt a bit strange after just 1 year time skip, an obvious uncalculated afterthought for the sake of it. The drama offered a decent package with a lot more potentials on the table but it also left a lot more to be desired.

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A Capitalist Happiness

Having a plot around mothers competing on social media over whose life is the happiest is such a dystopian sad present we currently live in. The concept itself was limit testing my cringe-o-meter really hard but luckily the mystery plot took over after 2 episodes. This drama was very similar to Green Mothers' Club (2022), it started with a group of housewives/residents living in their fancy neighborhood until it turns into a mystery plot after a few episodes. The mystery itself here was limited, swinging between who's the killer and digging up the past, however, it wasn't enough to fill 16 episodes and was often stretching each event really thin. Most of the characters were trashy which made it hard to sympathize with when they were given a turn over and a resolution. For a plot around who done it mystery, usually we get a handful of suspects with good motives but in this drama most of the suspects had a weak motivation and their attempt to play innocent was rather unconvincing. One thing that bothered me was how the drama never addressed the big daughter properly after her initial introduction and purpose, which was kinda important for the narrative. In fact, most relationships between the characters were given a half-arsed follow up and resolution, leading to an unacceptable wrap up.

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Aged Way Worse Than Milk

There's an obvious case to be made around the exploration of the ups and downs of being a young adult, but this drama was an excruciating exercise in superficiality, offering nothing but a hollow shell of what could have been a worthy experience. From its cardboard characters to its cringe-worthy dialogue and moments, the drama failed to maintain an attractive hook, opting instead for a glossy, saccharine portrayal that felt more like a caricature than a digestible imitation. The stories were equally pretty shallow as well, its attempts at drama fell flat, overshadowed by its overwhelming lack of substance, conviction and commitment between most of the characters, relationships and dynamics. Its surface-level approach with everything left no room for any proper investment to be had. By every metric possible, the 2nd season was a significant downgrade to what was an already struggling piece. Yoo Eun Jae was undeniably the weakest link in season 1, recasting her actress to someone who's struggling to play it, made things 10 folds worse. The replacement was trying really hard to mimic the original while the actress facial expressions, fluency and intonations were the polar opposite. It doesn't take a blind man to be appalled by the comparison, not like the original was any better. Unfortunately, things got even worse, her continuous story, background, conflicts, motives, and character writing were a nauseating concoction of utter literary incompetence and creative bankruptcy, a slap in the face to anyone with even a modicum of taste. To be fair, both Ye Ri & Eun Bin brought a much needed improved performances into the 2nd season, their characters as well had a better fit. Overall, the drama was a disappointingly bland and forgettable entry that failed to leave any lasting positive impact. If you care, streaming services like Netflix cut off any inner songs/tunes/humming/reading-lyrics-out-loud, the first episode is +3 minutes shorter than TV.

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Aged Like Milk

There's an obvious case to be made around the exploration of the ups and downs of being a young adult, but this drama was an excruciating exercise in superficiality, offering nothing but a hollow shell of what could have been a worthy experience. From its cardboard characters to its cringe-worthy dialogue and moments, the drama failed to maintain an attractive hook, opting instead for a glossy, saccharine portrayal that felt more like a caricature than a digestible imitation. The stories were equally pretty shallow as well, its attempts at drama fell flat, overshadowed by its overwhelming lack of substance, conviction and commitment between most of the characters, relationships and dynamics. Its surface-level approach with everything left no room for any proper investment to be had. By every metric possible, the 2nd season was a significant downgrade to what was an already struggling piece. Yoo Eun Jae was undeniably the weakest link in season 1, recasting her actress to someone who's struggling to play it, made things 10 folds worse. The replacement was trying really hard to mimic the original while the actress facial expressions, fluency and intonations were the polar opposite. It doesn't take a blind man to be appalled by the comparison, not like the original was any better. Unfortunately, things got even worse, her continuous story, background, conflicts, motives, and character writing were a nauseating concoction of utter literary incompetence and creative bankruptcy, a slap in the face to anyone with even a modicum of taste. To be fair, both Ye Ri & Eun Bin brought a much needed improved performances into the 2nd season, their characters as well had a better fit. Overall, the drama was a disappointingly bland and forgettable entry that failed to leave any lasting positive impact. If you care, streaming services like Netflix cut off any inner songs/tunes/humming/reading-lyrics-out-loud, the first episode is +3 minutes shorter than TV.

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Brainless Behaviour

This drama was a constant coin toss for me, swinging between great and bad throughout, this included the story, characters, jokes, and, in particular, cases. Every case related to one or multiple subjects around neuroscience for the doctor to talk about, however, some subjects were poorly executed and questionable. These ones were totally forced and stretched thin just for the sake of including them. Other cases were actually interesting. The humor as well was a big hit or miss, especially with the male leads. The drama placed too much focus on the male leads while neglecting the remainder of the cast dynamic. On the other hand, the detective wife didn't fit quite well and it took until the last few episodes for her character to finally blend. The drama had its good moments with its witty humor but it lacked in many areas to be a solid drama.

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Actually Deceitful

The drama fell short of its promising premise, stumbling through a maze of poorly executed plotlines and lackluster character development. It didn't take more than a few episodes, after the first couple of cases, to show its cracks, the narrative was disjointed, as if the writers couldn't decide which direction to take. Once the main case with Kyung Ja & Jay was brought to the front, the story went haywire. The drama failed to maintain a cohesive storyline after that. The main antagonists motivations were a total joke of a writing, let alone, the unhinged obsession of an adult over a little girl. While it's clear the creators aimed for a clever blend of mystery and drama, the execution fell flat, leaving more frustration than entertainment.

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Cityless Behaviour

Initially, the drama was captivating with its picturesque setting, charming characters, vibrant village life, and delightful slice-of-life moments. The dynamic between the village people created a lively and heartwarming atmosphere. Each character brought something unique to the table with lots potentials and the slow burn romance between the leads was a highlight, initially. However, as the focus shifted to the romance between the leads around episode 11, the vibrancy of the village dynamics began to fade and the the drama lost some of its spark. At that point, the drama turned into a very long compilation of cheesy uneventful dates sequences while neglecting the small-town dynamics and community interactions that initially drew me in. Their interactions became more unbearable as the drama went on and the male leads supposed problems were an additional let down. Anyway, it wasn't perfect to begin with, Yeong Guk & Hwa Jeong triangle and story was the weakest link in the village and borderline ruined many scenes. The drama could've definitely used more people in the village and more stories, even if it were to add more sidekicks. Moreover, many of the stories from the village started and ended within a few scenes/episodes. I really wanted to see more investment in the Pub owner rather than Yeong Guk triangle. Eventually, the resolution turned out to be just acceptable. While the drama remained enjoyable overall, the overall decline in quality after the leads got together was a really big disappointment.

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Money, innit?

The veteran actor, Lee Sun Kyun, delivered a powerful performance that anchored the show, as expected. It's really heartbreaking to lose such a big talent. Rest in piece. The drama didn't exactly break new ground with its plot or characters, but it managed to hold one's attention through its well paced narrative, occasional power shifts and a few unexpected twists thrown in. The cast does their thing, but some of the characters feel a bit like cardboard cutouts, lacking some life in them. While the drama dipped into melodrama sometimes but it struck a balance between suspense and storytelling. Overall, it's a pretty decent drama around corruption and power struggles.

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