152
358
93
Kate
hell
Truth to be told, this season was nowhere near as fun to watch as season 1. It seemed like most people gave up halfway through and everyone was just chilling in a friendly manner. I mean, I felt the pain of the editors. The uneven screen time for all the cast, how some episodes literally showed close to nothing from what was happening in Inferno - I guess they truly struggled with finding a good footage to include in the final product.
While in season 1 I felt like almost no one was rejecting anyone because they were “playing the game” and doing what the dating show is supposed to be about, here everyone was obsessed with their initial pick, but also no one wanted to be the bad guy or rude so no rejections happened and it was just this awkward vague bubble that did not want to burst.
I honestly don’t have more to say about it. The only reason I still watched it after the halfway through point, were the fun discussions in the comment section and to know the context of some comments and replies.
Do I feel bad for any of them for not being picked by the people they liked? Or not going to paradise? No. They are all hot, young, with successful careers and even their stay in “Inferno” is a vacation many people could never afford… I think that’s why I enjoy shows like that. I can watch them with no negative emotions.
Ps. Se Jun was THE MVP. Best boy ever. Bless him. Wish him all the happiness.
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The Exorcist meets MARVEL.
Rather than a horror movie, it felt much more like a superhero origin story with a religious twist, and I loved every second of it. It was extremely entertaining, the effects were nice, and so were the fighting scenes. The acting was believable. Except for a bit of a false advertisement (the trailers made it seem like more of a horror than action movie), I'd say this is a solid film.The best part was definitely Park Yong Hoo's character and how amazingly unimpressed he was about all the crazy stuff happening around him. I chuckled a few times simply because of his reactions, or rather lack of it. He was a rather well written hero, who struggled with accepting his true calling. As I said, it sounds like a superhero origin.
Since I myself don't believe in any of the things presented in the movie (hi there all the atheists) I cannot rate how scary this movie was, coz for me it was not at all. That said, I've been watching horror movies since I was around 6 years old, so it's not easy to scare me anymore.
All the characters were nicely done, we got a believable main villain (in terms of his motivations), the side stories and characters fitted the overall tone of the movie. It was a consistent storytelling without any plot holes and unexplained storylines. The ending felt a bit like a final boss fight in a video game, but that was fitting with how "superhero versus the villain" the whole movie was.
It's obvious how high the production value was. The shots were extremely aesthetically pleasing, the background music was fitting, the set design was amazing (the last scenes in the club: loved them). I also want to thank the demon for not ruining Do Hwan's face close to the end of the movie. He knows the true beauty and how to appreciate that.
Overall, really enjoyable. I might rewatch some scenes with Park Yong Hoo from time to time, since as of today, he is my favorite "horror" movie character.
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Started for the romance, stayed for the friendship.
When I start any BL, I am in for romance. I am not expecting an amazing plot, complex characters and any meaningful, well built relations between all the characters. So imagine my surprise, when half way through the show, I cared more about all the friendships, than the main romance.Does it mean the romance was bad? No. For me, it was just really basic. It got me with “aww, that’s cute” a few times, but overall, I was not that invested. Maybe because there were no real stakes, and all the problems and conflicts were similar to each other, but I barely felt anything.
On the other hand, I adored every scene between Aoki and Hashimoto. I wish the focus of the show was on them building their friendship that started from a misunderstanding, and the romance was more of a side plot. Watching them support each other was delightful. That duo is probably the best thing that happened in BLs in a long time.
I even cared more about Hashimoto and Aida more than the main couple, thanks to Hashimoto’s bubbly, but also brave personality, which made their scenes that much more interesting.
The cast did an amazing job portraying the characters. Michieda Shunsuke aced the over the top, but still somehow realistic reactions Aoki had. Meguro Ren portrayed the gradual change in Ida’s feelings, and initial unsureness in an excellent manner. Fukumoto Riko made Hashimoto the fun real life version of “looks like cinnamon roll, is a cinnamon roll, but could still kill you” character and Suzuki Jin made Aida fun, even if at times frustrating character to watch.
Overall, it was a fun watch. I do believe it would be more entertaining as a binge watch type of deal, since it did not have the plot that made me anticipate each new episode every week. It’s just a fun, cute high school romance that will make you feel happy, but might not amaze you.
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So many timelines, so little development.
I want to start with - I really did enjoy the show a lot, I hyped it at the beginning like crazy and got quite a few people to watch it too. That said, I cannot act as if it had no flaws. In fact, it had many.Started as a fun and entertaining rom-com delivering some well established cliches in a refreshing way, with just enough angst to keep you invested. And next? It turned into its worst nightmare - poorly written development making the last few episodes lose the initial charm. The fate of many dramas in the past. The fate of many dramas to come.
Truth to be told, I have no idea how to write the review in a way that will point out all the issues I had, while also delivering the clear idea of the fun and joy I felt while watching. The drama is honestly mediocre, but it’s such an excellent presentation, you just forget and ignore how mediocre it is.
The plot was messy, with little explanation of how anything works. Time travel had close to zero rules truly established, the villain had literally nothing going on for himself and I feel like the yellow umbrella had more personality than him. He had no business being so important to the plot with this little fucks put into actually writing it in engaging and coherent manner.
Kim Tae Sung and Baek In Hyuk were pure sunshines, but it’s a joke to call them main characters (and they are named as such even on namu.wiki). The supporting couple was painfully unnecessary and the whole drama had overall too many filler scenes and flashbacks of things that happened even in the same episode.
And yet it was fun and adorable. The chemistry between Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon was amazing from literally the first scene - they aced the romance, comedy, drama. Lovely Runner is filled with scenes that will make you smile and laugh and lighten your mood. The down to earth comedy driven by the characters’ personalities and daily accidents was probably one of my favorite aspects of the show. Even though I felt like the characters were not truly complex and well developed, at the same time I fell in love with their quirky personalities. Seon Jae and Tae Sung? Surprisingly great and fun chemistry. Now I wish to see the two of them in a drama together as close friends.
What’s more to love? Amazing soundtrack with many uplifting and moving songs. Sudden Shower (소나기) just melts your heart when you listen to it. With a great soundtrack goes beautiful visuals - loved the set design, lighting, camera angles. The drama also had amazing timing - turning some romantic and dramatic scenes into comedy bits with a fun presentation. So many things worked, so what didn't?
Ryu Seon Jae is technically the main character, but the writing matches the supporting ones more. Where is the development? Where is the rich characterization? Where are the flaws and personal goals? Why is he Haru 2.0? On paper he is perfect, but would I want a man like that in real life? A person with little to no individuality, whose whole existence revolves around me? That’s how Seon Jae is presented. He is a 1+1 deal with Im Sol and that’s it. Yes, he is good looking, yes he is adorable with his loser charm, he is dedicated, killing viewers with his puppy love towards Sol. But I need more from my lead characters… I need some spice with that sugar.
Sol is not much different, so at least we have equality here. Everything she does is done for Seon Jae’s benefit. I get it, it’s a plot driven show about preventing the bad thing from happening - it does not mean they cannot use some screen time to develop the characters a bit more beyond what the plot needs them to do. Why are they giving so much screen time to a side romance when your main characters are 2-dimensional plot puppets even half way through the show?
And it’s not like the plot was well developed. As I already said, time travel has no rules established except how to get back in time. The crime/mystery part is laughably bad with ridiculous conclusions. 80% of the show is just cute and fun moments, and there would be nothing wrong with that if the drama did not try to pretend as if the reminding 20% were interesting and important. Make it 12 episodes and switching a crime to depression and we would get top quality heart warming healing rom-com. You could feel how they did not have enough material for 16 episodes when they started to show flashbacks of events that happened maybe 20 minutes ago in the same episode.
Acting wise I overall loved it. There were a few moments when I found Kim Hye Yoon’s performance not quite convincing, especially during a few lighter romantic scenes - the smile was just too much, it did not seem real. Something about her being so excessively happy did not vibe with me, as if she tried to convince me she is happy with her smile instead of showing it with her eyes. But these were truly just a few moments and overall I truly loved her as Sol. When you think about it, at least in some aspects it was in fact noona romance. Byeon Woo Seok did an amazing job too. Loved how he could be both cool and charismatic and a dorky loser and it made perfect sense.
Overall, often after I finished watching the episode I had this thought: wow, that was really a filler episode, but I had so much fun. It’s happy and bright, overdramatic with its mystery when the mystery is shallow and barely working for this plot. I had a great time watching, but I would hesitate to recommend it.
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The 8th Night has this simplistic, sharp, cold, grainy texture to it, which you’ll either like or dislike. At times it might even feel borderline cartoonish or gimmicky. The directing and editing style does not fit my preferences, hence I did not connect well with what was happening on screen. It seems to cater to a specific type of audience, and for those who like this type of styling, it will for sure be an interesting and entertaining ride.
The opening narration serves as an exposition, but crosses the line of telling us the general plot of what’s to happen. Later, as we follow the main characters, the story gets expanded and the details are added.
Surprisingly, I chuckled a few times as I was watching. Some scenes were clearly intended to be funny, some were unintentionally hilarious. I might be desensitized to horror, which leads me to have rather unexpected reactions to scary or disturbing scenes, so keep that in mind.
Even though it was a miss for me, I have to appreciate the fact they stuck to the vision and ideas they had, without trying to please everyone.
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The most heartwarming kidnapping story one can encounter.
I cried, I laughed, I almost smashed my laptop - it was all worth it. The connection between Ro Hee and Myungjoon is not something I will be able to easily forget.Not the brightest, but a strong man and a genius child - this setup for the main characters sounds like the beginning of an over the top, unrealistic and not easily relatable story. To make it good, the writing of the characters needs nuance, and that’s what The Kidnapping Day presents.
Myung Joon is not this dumb guy who gets manipulated by everyone while being completely unaware of what’s truly going on around him. He is not just a passive tool for others to use, and his loyalty and compassion are the exact reasons he was one of the most dynamic and driven characters.
Ro Hee is not this emotionless adult-like genius. Yes, intelligence was a big part of her, but the detailed writing did not ignore one of the most important aspects of who she truly was - a child. Many stories focus so much on characters’ cognitive abilities, they completely forget to showcase their emotional development - this way we get these robot-like smart kids who just act like adults. Not here. That innocent and child-like nature made the story far more impactful. It also made it possible to present a variety of the types of interactions she had - some treated her like a child, some treated her as a genius, some treated her just as just… I guess that’s something you will find out if you watch the drama ;)
It’s a story about making choices and facing the consequences. How some wrongdoings cannot be wiped clean, no matter how much we try. How trauma can hunt you for a lifetime. How greed can push you to do despicable actions. How everyone's idea of happiness is different. It’s a story about fear, desperation, obsession, but also compassion, family and support. It’s a whole package.
The Kidnapping Day for sure leans more into character (and relationships) driven drama, but I would never say it neglects the plot aspect of it. It was just slightly less masterfully crafted. Some aspects were not quite detailed, but all was enough to tell a cohesive and engaging story. We hit some dead ends and a few bits had not quite satisfying conclusions, but since I never viewed them as the focus of the drama, it did not bother me that much.
The acting… I have no words. Big props to Yuna who had the hardest and most demanding role to carry. I truly fell in love with Ro Hee and cared for this child with all my heart. Yoon Gye Sang presented so much warmth in his performance, I wished to have someone with a similar presence to Myung Joon in my life. I’m also impressed with Kim Shin Rok as Seo Hye Eun. I kept going back and forth with hating her and feeling sympathy - presenting the complexity of her story and the duality of it was not an easy task, but Shin Rok handled the role amazingly.
The production, directing, editing - all perfect. I even loved the small details like the chapter titles at the beginning of each episode with well selected shots as background and these tiny doodles as symbolic representation. Even the soundtrack was amazing. Especially the instrumental score.
Was the drama perfect? No. I still believe that the second episode was a poorly constructed introduction to the investigation and Sang Yoon. Some characters got me confused about their presentation - from feeling not that threatening, to then abruptly switching to the biggest threat. As I previously mentioned, there were some plotlines that could have been explored more and had better closure.
But even taking all that into consideration, this drama was truly a magnificent experience that kept me tense, happy, sad, angry, hopeful, scared each Wednesday and Thursday from September 13th till October 25th - and I will probably come back to it from time to time.
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The Lost Tomb - Bromance edition.
Yeah, I know, the whole Grave Robbers’ Chronicles is one big bromance party, but this one truly relies on the bromance a lot. The bromance is literally the reason the plot exists here.It’s a simple, fun and well executed short side story. Most of the characters have valid motivations that justify the risks they are taking. The visuals were surprisingly good. After seeing quite a few tomb dramas/movies I am honestly not sure, but I think the wacky fighting scenes are wacky and questionable on purpose - this seems like a stylistic choice and not the lack of effort on the production team side.
I also appreciate all the deaths. The Tomb installments never shied away from killing side and supporting characters, but here I appreciate that they actually showed the kills.
Acting was great, dubbing - not so much. The line delivery was great, it just barely matched the movement of the mouth. At times it became distracting.
Overall, a quick and enjoyable watch. For sure it serves as better entertainment if you know and like the characters.
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Oversaturated plot with underdeveloped relationships.
I’m quite conflicted about how I feel right now. Honestly speaking, the things that made me curious were not explored enough or did not happen at all. The few elements I loved were just a part of the overall messy plot that tried to include too many side characters and stories.What I enjoyed? Exploration of motherhood presented through Yu Ri, Min Jung and Eun Sook. What does it mean to be a mother? How much is a mother willing to sacrifice for her child? What makes a mother - giving birth to a child or having a bond with them? The show presented in a beautiful way the connection that moms have with their kids. That was the true heart of the show.
Going against the stereotypical depictions - in this case: stepmothers. I’m a sucker for fresh takes on the overused themes. We have seen enough evil stepmothers in the media, it’s amazing to see good examples once in a while.
The few scenes of sismance and female friendship and Oh Min Jung’s character. Min Jung was simply the best and most interesting part of the whole show, with real stakes and proper conflicts - both internal and external. Somehow, her journey was more heartbreaking, but also motivating and uplifting than anything the female lead presented.
Lee Kyu Hyung - he is an acting monster. What a performance he delivered. I rewatched quite a few of his scenes. He aced both the subtle and the exaggerated. I am even tempted to say, this was his strongest performance I have ever seen.
What I disliked or was disappointed about? My biggest issue was the dynamic between Yu Ri, Kang Hwa and Min Jung - or rather the fact they kept telling me what these characters feel for each other, but it was never really presented so I did not believe a word they said. You can tell me even a hundred times how much Kang Hwa loves Min Jung, but if you don’t actually show it, I see it as a big, fat lie. For me, the emotional connections were poorly presented and explained. I might understand what the writer and director wanted to depict, but it was not actually there in the final product.
Cha Yu Ri - both with how the character was written and portrayed. Is it me, or is Kim Tae Hee getting worse in acting with each new project? I did not buy the majority of her scenes. There was something really… fake about her delivery. The character itself also offered little to nothing. It’s the first time when I felt like the main character is nothing more, but a plot device…
Too many useless characters - wasted screen time. Did we need so many ghosts and their stories? No. At the end of the day, they were there to present the regret and the longing for life. Not to mention the new exorcist by the end that served exactly zero purpose. The same plot could have been told with the use of the already established characters.
The production was good. Your typical mainstream kdrama. They tried to solve a lot of storytelling problems with flashbacks and compilations of scenes, and while they looked nice, they also made the plot feel more empty, as nothing was truly established.
Overall, a decent watch, but not something I would recommend.
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Yeo Joon is for sure the star of the show, the most interesting and well portrayed character. They did a good job with his introduction and character development. It was gradual and realistic. We witnessed him try to fight his demons alone, still learning how to open to others, even as the drama got closer to the end. Park Ji Hoon did an amazing job acting - some scenes giving me real goosebumps.
That said, it was disappointing to see just a little of the screen time used to explore his relationship with the family, seeing how it defined who he was and how he acted for the majority of his life... so for it to not have more importance in the healing aspect was a bit... weird?
Soo Hyun might be the main character, but he did not get enough screen time as one. With that, his character development is nowhere near as well written as Yeo Joon's. It was not as organic and natural. He was one of my favorite characters, so I was a bit sad with the fact there wasn’t more focus placed on him.
And then there is the issue of Soo Hyun being straight in the show, when he is gay in the webtoon - truly hate it. It’s infuriating. They could have not given him any love line and use that time to develop his character more. Some people can ignore that, but some people would not pick up a show that is straightwashing characters, so do with this information what you want.
Last but not least from the three heroes of the show: Kim So Bin, who technically could have worked as a main character, if she would be well written and incorporated into the story. She got a good character introduction, they set up some nice conflicts - both internal and external… but then did nothing with them. Her existence revolves around Yeo Joon - she is there for him to like, to make him want to change, to save her…
She had enough screen time for an amazing development, it was just not given to her. Even almost at the end of the show... she is there to be saved by Yeo Joon after making stupid decisions and not being able to say no... by now she should have been more than that.
Young Ran and Mi Joo showed a realistic portrayal of "love rivalry" between friends. As much as I dislike the love triangle and how unnecessary it was, I still appreciate it gave us a good representation of female friendship.
That said, as individual characters... I find it sad most of their arc is focused on unrequited love as if they don't have anything else going on in their lives. Especially with Mi Joo… girl needs a hobby or something.
For a show that is suppose to focus on healing, realistic portrayal of college life and growth… The lack of consequences characters faced is staggering. How they resolved some of the conflicts involving the seniors was simply unrealistic. Sorry, but you cannot make a character that unlikeable and then for no reason say “well… maybe they are not that bad after all” - yes, yes they are unless you give me character development which would make me believe they are not trash.
Honestly speaking, I went into the drama without reading the webtoon, ans started reading it only half way through the show. Was hoping for friendship, and romance as side plot. Sadly, the romance was the center of the directing, getting the most screen time out of all plot lines. By the end, they started to pair everyone up, was it really necesary?
If you want to watch it only for bromance after reading the synopsis, don’t bother - just check fanmade videos on youtube. Otherwise, there will a lot of skipping scenes ahead of you.
Overall: I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy even a second of At a Distance, Spring Is Green. Some aspects were great, but some were annoyingly bad. It’s a good drama for a younger audience, far less tragic and serious than the first two episodes present. As long as you don't expect a masterpiece, and are willing to forgive some underdeveloped and forgotten plot lines, you will enjoy it. The production value is obviously high, and they use the university setting well. Not to mention great summer vibes OST.
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It took quite a few detours for them to reach the destination.
Flight to You is a drama that somehow manages to be both amazingly realistic and painfully ridiculous at the same time. How? The characters represent the realistic part, while the plot, especially in the last 8-10 episodes gets a little bit too close to a mental circus you just have to accept and not question the logic behind.The best aspect of the drama is how the characters have real flaws which have real consequences. Cheng Xiao might be smart, driven and friendly, but she is also impulsive and overconfident which affected her career quite a few times. Gu Nan Ting might be patient, fair and hardworking, but he is also closed off and too strict. Similar descriptions can be written by other characters, even the “bad guys” - no one is just good and pure, or evil and flawed.
Speaking of which - I loved Jiang Tao (or loved to hate him would be more fitting). What a well written antagonist. He was just a normal man that was painfully sexist and too power driven - something we see in real life more often than we should. At some point I even started to feel bad for him - his old fashioned and full of prejudiced worldview was simply limiting - both for him and for the company he cared so much about.
I also appreciated how the supporting characters felt both familiar, as many followed well established tropes, and fresh, by adding small twists to their characterization. The whole show is truly driven by how likable and relatable these characters are.
Onto the plot. Romance was so slow at times it felt like we were walking backwards. It was all in the hands guys, all the romance, love, frustration, pinning, doubt. Pay attention to the hands (not like you can miss it with all the close ups…). Truth to be told, I was completely fine with this snail pace. I appreciated and enjoyed the relationship between Gu Nan Ting and Cheng Xiao not only for the sparks, but also the partnership and friendship they built. How much they influenced each other and grew to be better pilots and better people because of it.
As for the airport related plots - you gotta close one eye and ignore some illogical aspects of it. Closer to the end you might need to close two, since the show just gives up the realism as it struggles to keep up with the plots and give them all a proper closure. That said, by then I was so in love with the characters, I was not even frustrated, but rather amused by some of the developments.
The performances were strong. Wang Kai can deliver any role and make it believable. He makes any character seem like a real life person. Tan Song Yun also aced her portrayal of Cheng Xiao - she was literally THE center of the whole drama and she carried the show on her back with no issue. Each and every supporting cast member did a fantastic job and I honestly have no complaints.
The production value was on the high end of the drama/slice of life workplace c-dramas. Something I want to compliment the show on were the transition scenes - the sped up shots of the sceneries showcasing different times of the days were beautiful.
Overall, a great show that focuses on self-improvement, fairness or lack of it in the workplace, taking on responsibilities and dealing with the aftermath and consequences of both the achievements and failures. It tackles the issues of mental health (at times in a questionable manner) and sexism and how hard it is to fight against it in a workplace. It’s easy to binge watch and surprisingly engaging.
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This review may contain spoilers
La Ri Ma’s supremacy.
What could have been an interesting take on the reality of idols, turned into a cliché rom-com with important issues as background noise. Pure escapism without much logic.The show opens with the mysterious disappearance of Eunjo and the tragic end of Annie. One would think this is going to be an important element of the plot - it’s not. They bring it up a few times for a few seconds, and then solve it by the end, without any solving actually happening.
For the majority of the show, we follow Tea Party as they struggle trying to make their debut work for the 2nd time, but…. There is not much of a struggle going on. Every problem and conflict they face is solved right away without many lasting consequences.
They hint some problems idols might face like not getting paid for the training period, or even after debut (because of the training debt), how rookie idols can be used to bury bigger scandals, even if it ruins their careers, how idols might be viewed as products that can be easily replaced and not as individual people, obsessed and possessive fans, and many more… but all of them are just mentioned with one or two lines and not properly explored.
The main focus is the relationship between Maha and Ryok, which is so lukewarm and boring, I had to watch it at 1.5x speed. They hit too many cliches that are not well executed, it’s sad to watch at times, especially since both Jeong Ji So and Jun are rather talented actors that can do more than this.
Of course, how it always is with teen/young adult romance stories - no one can be single, hence every Tae Party member gets their own love interest.
Even the main love triangle is there… and then one day it’s not. There is no tension, no conflict between interested parties… no nothing.
The best character with the most interesting story, charming personality and depth was La Ri Ma. She could easily become the main character, coz even as a supporting role, she overshadowed everyone. Without lying, I survived this show mostly for her (and one of the side couples, that overall, throughout the 12 episodes, had not more than 6 minutes of screen time together).
Production wise… I do have my complaints. The budget could not have been high, looking at the Award Show at the beginning. If you can’t make it look realistic (whenever the reason is lack of money, or the pandemic), don’t do it. There were other ways to show who is the top idol and respected performer. Another thing was the distracting, poorly done make up. Ma Ha looked like her lips kept bleeding, and Jun at times could play a 30+ years old guy.
With all that, I somehow got attached and the last episode made me slightly emotional, especially the scenes of the few characters I liked.
Overall: Honestly speaking - waste of time. I was initially interested because of the mystery element and more realistic portrayal of the idol's life, but it was all gone by episode 3. I don’t even want to talk about acting. Some of the idols did better than others, but damn, the majority of supporting roles of the two boy groups were not great.
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This review may contain spoilers
Stunning visuals and the thrilling game of wits.
Your expectations will make or break this show. If you expect a typical noble king versus corrupted officials power struggle, this will be a huge disappointment. You need to be aware of the fact that for a lot of the show the king takes the side lines in this power political scheme and the focus is put on other main characters and the overall context of the current court situation. Lee Tae for many episodes is shown being too preoccupied protecting Yoo Jung taking detours in his plan.This is not a story of a hero fighting for power to create a better world. This is a story of a king with no vision, trying to gain power for the sake of power. A king who is willing to sacrifice many innocent lives and put the whole country in danger for his personal goals. A king who, while possessing some wits and strategy skills, has no wisdom and is unable to foresee the consequences of his actions. A king who should never be a king (until they give him last minute change of heart, I don't want to talk about it...)
While most of this review is my personal subjective interpretation (which mostly talks about the events excluding the last episode, as I feel like ot did disservice to the whole show) of the events and the characters, it is a fact that this is not the good versus evil type of a story. It’s a great portrayal of the aftermath that could happen in the country after deposing a tyrant king. Putting a new one on the throne is not the end of the struggle, It’s just the beginning. The subject and officials learning how to trust the new ruler, and the new king proving his worth and gaining power with their wisdom and not the political schemes would be the ideal scenario, which could not be more different than what the drama presents.
The new king tries to gain more power against the officials. The officials fear the tyranny they just ended, so they try to limit the power of the royal family. The royal family works even harder to gain more power. Both sides started to use evil tactics to achieve their goal. No one is right, no one is good. To understand the motivations of the characters you need to take into consideration the context the drama sets.
Let’s start with the characters, as they are the core of this story. Before you proceed though, know I am a pro Gye Won type of a girl.
Lee Tae and his family reminded me of all the evil royal families in all chinese dramas - creating a mess because of their bad planning and actions, and then blaming other people for them. No one was willing to be accountable for what they have done. The late Queen would rather “die a queen” which led to many innocent lives being sacrificed, than lose the honor. The late king would rather put the blame on innocent people for her death, instead of telling the truth. Lee Tae would rather risk the whole country’s safety with his poorly planned schemes (I mean, dude was surprised Queen Dowager turned into a full tyrant after he led her to take over… the lack of insight was amazing) than put in the effort to unite the people.
And none of the Lee Tae’s family members had a real goal, except gaining power and honor for the royal family. The country was not in chaos. People were not living bad lives, the officials (while there will always be some bad apples) were not all corrupted groups who used their power for their own benefit. Yes, they limited the royal family, but they did it out of fear, not out of greed. And The royal family did nothing to make the officials trust them. Who decided to make a queen a daughter of the killed tyrant and then act surprised when officials start to be more on edge?
Lee Tae was not fighting against the bad guys, he was fighting for power, and that’s where his plan ends. He never presented any ideas of how he will use said power to make the lives of his subjects better, how to make the country stronger. From episode one they showed countless hints how he is in fact a tyrant in making, even though being one was never his actual goal. Throughout the show he kept seeing himself as a victim and justified all his actions. In his mind, the people that died because of his schemes were not victims of his ploy, they were sacrifices he made. But he failed to see that one cannot sacrifice what is not theirs, and their lives were not. One can scarify THEIR life, THEIR dignity, THEIR possession. Taking it away from other people for your own gain is NOT sacrifice.
I think from the start we saw how he was not fit to be the king. The more episodes I have seen, the more on Gye Won’s side I was, even though he himself was nowhere near being a hero. With how the story was told, it made complete sense that he tried to keep the royal family’s power in check after surviving the tyrant king, especially since Lee Tae never showed any signs of possibly doing a better job at ruling. He was pretending to be a foolish king not interested in politics, so why would Gye Won put the trust in him? And when Lee Tae finally started to make some moves, they were all focused on fighting against the officials, and none on trying to make the country a better place. We saw how Gye Won was willing to give up his power as long as someone shows the qualities of a good ruler - putting the people ahead of their goals, plans, honor and pride. The moment he saw Yoo Jung has these qualities, he was willing to serve her and respected her plans and decisions she was making. He was supporting her and trusted her.
Gye Won became one of the most interesting characters in all 2022 dramas. At first it might seem as if his goal of “putting the righteous king on the throne” is just a way of keeping the power to himself, as no king will ever meet his arbitrary ideals, but later on we can see that’s not the truth. He was never loyal to the royal family, he was loyal to the country. He was willing to sacrifice his life, and in consequence dooming his whole family, just to make sure no tyrant will ever gain the absolute power. He went against the love of his life the moment she seeked the power she should not have. He was willing to lose all his merit, honor and pride, becoming a traitor if it meant saving the country.
Truth to be told, both Lee Tae and Gye Won did some shady things during the drama. The difference here is the motivation - Gye Won was fighting FOR the country, while Lee Tae was fighting AGAINST the officials. One had a vision of a prosperous country in mind, the other had a vision of absolute royal power. One was willing to sacrifice themselves for the country, while the other was willing to put the country in danger for his goal.
It became a question - what makes a good king? Political strength of the royal family as Lee Tae wanted? Or wisdom and benevolence that Gye Woon sought in the new king?
And then we had the brilliant Yoo Jung. While the first 4 episodes made her seem like nothing more than just a love interest for Lee Tae and a pawn in political schemes, she quickly became one of the sources of power in the court. Compared to Gye Won and Lee Tae, she, from the start, used her own wits, at times putting her own life at risk, instead of using people around her. She was able to gain the trust of both Gye Won and even the most trusted person on Lee Tae’s side, to help her with her plans. She knew when to compromise for the good of the people, putting her own wants to the side. Since her goal was to protect the people, fighting against others was not always her go to opinion, as it more often than not created more victims. She tried to negotiate and find a common ground. As a true ruler should.
Her trust in Lee Tae by the end of the show was a bit delusional, I have to admit it. Her trying to whitewash his crimes, acting as if he was different than Queen Dowager or Gye Won was simply laughable. Stating that he will not take the same path that Queen Dowager took, when he was the one who created the path himself was just painful to see.
The complexity of the characters and the no obvious morals were the best part of the show. Putting a complete twist to the typical court period drama was a delight and got me engaged on some next level. I was analyzing and discussing the characters and their actions with many users after each and every episode, and they always left me with some issues and ideas to reflect upon.
All that said, the show is not without flaws in terms of the characters and writing. The biggest issue I had was Queen Dowager’s characterization. I honestly had no issue with her becoming just a pawn in the game. She was never shown to be a witty, smart and driven person. From the start she was passive and relied on Gye Won to make all the decisions. What bothered me was her motivation which made little to no sense. They did not set it properly. Yes, I understand that her fear of abandonment made her seek the power, but with how she was presented, her reasoning behind it should be “I will give you the country to rule, you don’t need Yoo Jung” instead of “I will take away everything you have and burn the country you tried to protect”. Her out of the blue defiance and war against men in power was just laughable, because nothing about how she was presented before fitted that scenario.
Another character that had questionable presentation was Jo Won Pyo. I understand that he was supposed to represent a person who “goes with the flow” does not fight for nor against to keep themselves safe. I understand it’s supposed to give us the viewers commentary on how not standing up against evil does not mean you are neutral, it means you are on the side of the bad guys, as it supports their actions. I don’t think they truly delivered that message well. We knew from the start that he and Gye Won worked together to depose the tyrant king. We know he took the right actions when needed, so this “will he/won’t he” closer to the end seemed a bit out of place.
What’s more, the show relied a little bit too much on surprising reveals to deliver impactful plot twists, which led to sacrificing some character development and limiting the attachment the viewers might have had. Some of these tactics worked well - Yoo Jung deciding to stay in the palace against Lee Tae’s wishes. It was a short, one episode side story, did not take a lot of the screen time and with all the other information we had about Yoo Jung, did not impact how viewers saw her in terms of her wits and intelligence. We knew she was smart, we did not need the step by step explanation on how she did it. On the other hand, they tried to use the same style of storytelling for some longer plotlines, and that just failed. I’m not the biggest fan of making Lee Tae the mastermind of it all in the last 4 episodes, when he was presented as a smart, but impulsive and emotional person during all the previous ones. My issue was the fact he was shown to behave like that even when there were no people around him, when he did not have to pretend for his plan to work. I honestly felt lied to. The direction of the plot was brilliant, but the writers trying to keep it hidden for so long was not the best choice for me.
Same story happened with the young monk - with how much of an impact he had on the plot, we knew nothing about him, he was added to the plot in later episodes. Before we could try to understand him and his motivation, he was gone - a painful case of a character being just a plot device and nothing more.
Some people might also dislike how the schemes were mostly just talking and plans, and close to none of them actually happened, as they were stopped or negotiated before they took place. It was not - kill, poison, lie, hire assassins, over the top type of political schemes. It was far more based on the game of wits, threats and mutual convincing that the actions someone wants to take will not be beneficial, as the other person might have hidden some tricks up their sleeves. One could say the plot is slow and barely anything happens. It’s true that there are just a few big events. The plot is the shifts in dynamics and creating new alliances. The core of the show are the characters, not the plot itself. Why do they do what they do? What do they stand for? What are they willing to do to achieve that? Whom should the viewers root for?
What’s worth mentioning are the visuals of the show. The whole show is like a moving painting. The number of breathtaking scenes was high. Some of my favorites were the aerial shots - I’m a sucker for these. If dramas have them, I will always give some bonus points. This is for sure the most visually stunning drama I have seen in 2022. And these visuals are supported by the amazing soundtrack. While I loved all the songs, the instrumental arrangement had more impact for me.
The acting was almost perfect. I cannot stop myself from thinking Lee Joon exaggerated some line delivery. Especially when he added that raspy quality to his voice every time the character got angry, sad or emotional - after a while it became just too much. Instead of getting emotionally affected by the scene, I was thinking how much his throat has to hurt after all that.
I was also not amazed by Choi Ri’s acting as Jo Yeon Hee. Even though the character was rather unlikeable, I felt indifferent because of the portrayal.
All the rest of the cast did amazing. Jang Hyuk is an actor that was born to act in period dramas, so no surprise for her. That one that caught me off guard with how well they did was Kang Han Na. She is an amazing actress, but the role of Yoo Jung was extremely hard to deliver correctly. Being both strong, but also delicate. Empathetic, but also assertive. Emotional, but also rational. Give that role to a worse actress and the character will be all over the place. Kang Han Na aced the role and made Yoo Jung one of my favorite female characters.
I honestly don't even want to talk about the ending. Pacing wise it made no sense for any of the characters to do a 180 like that. If they wanted this conclusion, the events in episode 15 should have happened at least 2 episodes earlier, so the change would be more gradual. My issue is not even the ending itself, but how it was delivered.
Overall, you can enjoy the show if you just casually watch it, but the true value comes from truly analyzing it and trying to understand the characters and context of the show. The more you invest your attention and time into this show, the more you will enjoy it. It leaves you with many moral questions that are truly not easy to answer.
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This drama is like a baby taking its first steps…
a bit wobbly and can hardly be called walking, but it’s such a big achievement it’s worth celebrating.A straightforward criticism of the capitalistic world and social structures that exclude everyone not willing to act according to unfair rules. While some scenes might have felt preachy, the message was loud and clear, and sometimes this is exactly what is needed. You could feel the passion of youth in this project.
What the drama does phenomenally is making you care for this bunch of young people. Realistically speaking they should have been either dead or arrested by episode 4 at best, but against all logic, you just want to see them succeed and get out of it alive.
The acting! GMM truly decided to cast their best in this one. We all know Gun and Off have natural chemistry, but it was great to see them shine next to each other as individual characters, rather than just a couple. First was so good, at times I felt like he was too good for this script, or too good for this small part of Thai entertainment industry.
Production wise I loved quite a few shots. The use of different sources of light made some scenes extremely beautiful. Shots of two Guns were well edited - yes, if you know the actor well, you can see how the double used for some scene is different, but one has to be really nitpicky to make it an actual flaw.
All that said, the whole show was so serious and unserious at the same time, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about it. Motivated to make a change and tackle social issues? Rolling on the floor laughing about poorly executed fighting scenes? How unrealistic the production was took away from how realistic and serious the issues they tried to present. How am I supposed to see baby faced Gun take down a few professionally trained highly specialized security guards of the millionaire villain? Him boxing once a week with his teen buddies must have been enough for training I guess.
Not to mention the frequent PPLs. I know the drama needs founding, but taking into consideration the anti-capitalistic themes in the show, it just stood out in a painfully negative way.
Then we have the flying parkour, Sing being completely miscast, the lack of closure - no, this is not how you are supposed to do an open ending or any ending. The power imbalance between the good and the bad guys that I was supposed to just accept as realistic, when it made little to no sense…
Overall, it’s hard not to like it. It gives all the right messages, delivers great entertainment, a variety of characters and point of views. Leaves enough space for the viewers to make their own mind. The acting was amazing, visually it was pleasant to the eye. It just did not feel polished enough - the passion should have been used a little bit for the good old planning, practice and production. Maybe some script rewrites here and there too.
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Everyone needs a break from responsibilities.
A cute and well paced romance between actor Shibuya Taikai and kindergarten teacher Aota Aika, focused on finding happiness.This drama is pure sweetness sprinkled with good old misunderstandings and noble idiocy. Far less infuriating than other titles with similar tropes, sadly it does make you roll your eyes with some of the plot progression.
Shibuya Taikai, even though a popular actor, is an awkward, focused on his family man who seeks little interactions with other people. Taking the role of the head of the family and to some extent a parenting role for his sister. And then he meets Aota Aika and slowly, but surely she puts a smile on his face and makes him want more from his life than just dealing with responsibilities the best he can.
What I found a bit disappointing is how we can truly see the depth of internal struggles Shibuya Taikai is facing only close to the end of the drama. One specific scene makes you understand all the previous choices that he made, but it feels a little too late.
What’s more, I actually have little to nothing to say about Aota Aika. She was cute and fun, but I don’t think she was interesting as an individual character.
The acting was great. Kyomoto Taiga presents a whole variety of different roles playing as Shibuya Taikai. The highlight of his performance was the crying scenes. He did master them, they were both heartbreaking and beautiful, because they were never exaggerated. Just well timed tears - all the expressions kept in the eyes alone.
Overall, a fun watch, probably better as a binge. Could have been a bit shorter, removing some layers of miscommunication.
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It's 4 episodes if you skip all the walking.
This show left me in a state of complete confusion. What happened? How did it happen? Who approved it? At some point I was 5 episodes in and I could not comprehend how there are 3 episodes left. How dumb will they make the characters to fill that screen time?I’m not kidding when I say nothing made sense. The investigation was laughable - the worst I have ever seen in any drama. The killer was just mediocre and was able to kill for so long only because everyone else was so imcompetant The male lead… I don’t even want to talk about him. Each and every choice he made was making me question my sanity. Not to mention Bae Tae Jin who was there to add “spice” to the typical story, but failed to do so.
I am honestly impressed by how bad this show was. It can fool you during the first 2 episodes - they are generic, but not tragic. How fast it changes though. The longer you watch, the dumber it gets. Protect your brain, don’t watch it. And if you like to suffer like me, at least don’t binge watch it. Your brain could fry.
The characters don’t even share one brain cell. There are no brain cells being used by anyone in this show. Zero brain cells. Negative brain cells energy. Basically a black hole for brain cells.
Sure, the acting was goodish, the production itself was not bad. But no amount of technical aspects being done well can save this project.
Overall, why does it exist?
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