305
707
142
13
18
20
13
3
10
35
6
16
1
2
25
45
2
12
10
3
5
6
3
6
10
1
3
4
9
23
20
41
Why make it so complicated?
I will never understand why Korean writers are so obsessed over adding so many external conflicts to every drama ever, while also making them so over the top and not relatable for the majority of their audience. Love in Contract is a rom-com, not a business politics drama, we do not need this much focus, or even any focus on the shenanigans of the chaebols.I honestly think removing the whole aspect of the “rich elites” from this show and making it at best 12 episodes long would vastly improve the quality. The whole second half was just a dramatic mess. All the important bits about learning how to rely on others, trust them, move on from past traumas, heal, find your own dreams and goals - drowned in the pool of misogynist powerful men and overprotective mothers.
That said, the first half of the drama was a blast to watch. Choi Sang Eun is a great female lead with a strong personality, clear views that impact her behavior, but also a solid dose of insecurities that we get to explore as the drama progresses. Jung Ji Ho, being one of the most unique male leads in dramaland, had some of the most solid character developments - improving his communication skills, creating social connections, improving his understanding of other people’s views and perspectives, while still keeping the core of his persona true.
Out of all the supporting characters, I for sure enjoyed Jung Ji Eun the most. Appreciated her understanding nature and willingness to improve and not just be a menace to the main couple. And it would be a crime not to mention Woo Gwang Nam. I have to say, that’s honestly a solid representation - a character that is gay, but his whole existence, personality, internal and external conflict do not only resolve around his sexuality. He was neither comedic relief, nor the typical tortured soul. Easily the most complex and well established supporting character this drama had to offer.
Would be lying if I said I was impressed by any of the performances, since I feel I have seen similar characters from these actors in their previous roles. I’d even say it’s impressive how type-cast the drama was.
I have little to nothing to say about the production value. There was nothing bad, nor outstanding about the directing, editing, soundtrack, set design. Sure, the female lead’s outfits were amazing, but that’s not enough for me to praise the overall quality.
Overall, the show was simply basic. It had great moments, nice supporting characters, but when it’s surrounded by mediocrity, I question if it’s worth watching the whole show for scraps.
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Fairly entertaining, insanely ridiculous.
Did I have fun? Kind of. Did it take me 4 hours to finish it? Yes. Did I feel bad about being bored while watching all the kids dying? No. And that all kind of sums up all the problems I had with the movie.Personally, I’m the person who needs some kind of explanation for the events happening, otherwise I cannot connect to what I see on the screen and I get bored. And we got exactly zero explanations in Battle Royale. What was the goal of the law? What was supposed to be the positive effect it has? What was the motivation make it happen? We don’t know and I honestly cannot think of a truly logical one myself that would make sense in any universe. So the movie ends up with being just… kids killing themselves and each other. And that’s kind of boring.
That said, there were two aspects I did enjoy:
My favorite part of the movie was for sure everyone taking their sweet time dying after being shot 4868374587439 times. They do need to give their final monologues after all.
Jokes aside, one thing I truly liked is how the kids are accused of basically the collapse of moral standards and crumbling society, but as the movie progresses, we see many flashbacks of all the adults who failed the same kids that are blamed now. Great way to showcase how youth is often blamed the negative consequences of adults’ actions and decisions - still relevant 23 years after the movie was made. It’s not the kids that ruined the society, it’s the society that failed the kids.
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On the other hand it felt like the panelists were not quite treating the participants as real people. It’s one thing to “ship” them when watching the show and seeing specific interactions that were edited to look romantic, it’s a completely different story to ship these people in their face and keep saying how they see “signals” between them. I feel like After Signal took one step too far into the private lives of these people.
Still, I did enjoy it a lot. I feel like this showed some new sides of the couples - it makes it so much easier to understand why these people picked each other, but it also proves how shitty editing and directing of Heart Signal 4 was…
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The lack of chemistry was evident…
Which made me enjoy it more as a slice of life drama, rather than a romantic comedy. Not gonna lie though, with the amount of “love lines” and feelings the characters had for each other, the fact that there were exactly zero sparks felt was disappointing.I honestly think it would be better without the romance. Focusing on friendship and personal growth would make it a nice, warm and inspiring show. What we’ve got was a borderline Jekyll and Hyde male lead, that flipped between his two personalities in the matter of seconds and a questionable romance - no one will convince me Sato Ai was not too focused on the familiarity and the nostalgia, while ignoring all the flaws.
We also have the whole aspect of changing appearance, which I found ridiculous. For me Koshiba Fuka actually looked better and more attractive before the “glow up”. I think the natural look fits her far more, and the idea she was thought to be extremely ugly was laughable.
There were still quite a few aspects I truly loved. The themes of rediscovering yourself, finding your dreams, working hard to improve, taking accountability for your actions - this is what I enjoyed the most.
Sato Ai was a great character with a great journey. Higuchi Takuya was a walking sunshine with a glowing personality that was impossible to dislike. And then we have Sosuke and Risa who were both underdeveloped which made them kind of boring - I truly did not care about them at all. Their struggles and motivations were shown in such a vague and shallow manner, why should I care?
The performances were good. Akaso Eiji impressed me the most - the natural and quick switches between the happy puppy to angst were amazing. They were clearly visible to the viewers, but subtle enough that it made sense the other characters did not notice. This Japanese version overall improved in the characterization aspects - keeping the core of who these characters were supposed to be, while toning down the cartoonish overreactions to make them more realistic.
Overall, a nice watch for binging. Nothing outstanding. Perfect as a palate cleanser when someone wants to watch something mildly amusing, but not too engaging.
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Nightmare for all women.
“It’s her right to live alone, not a reason to hurt her”.Putting aside who the stalker is, what is also unsettling is how all the men in her life were acting creepy enough to be considered a potential perpetrator. The whole movie had little to no moments that did not make me feel uncomfortable.
Honestly speaking, I did enjoy it more than the Korean version. For starters, the police did not seem as painfully bad at their job. I am pretty sure they had less involvement in this version, but that was a good call. Detective and investigative work should never be the focus of a story like that.
Then I also appreciate how the female lead made more reasonable and smart decisions. While I appreciated some mistakes the female lead in the Korean version made, because they made her more realistic, by the end I was a bit frustrated. Here, they were able to keep the realism without making her make questionable decisions.
What the movie failed at a few times were the transitions between scenes and sequences - some felt extremely jarring and confusing - that made me rewatch some scenes to make sure I did not miss something. It just felt out of place.
My biggest issue though was the ending - as over the top as the Korean version, if not more. It was going so well with presenting an unnerving experience women can truly face in real life, and then they had to make it more dramatic at the end, completely unnecessarily if you ask me.
Still, it was a great watch. The atmosphere was perfect and some scenes made me want to go around my house and check “just to be sure and safe” that ain’t no creep hiding somewhere. The performances were also solid - kudos to all the male cast for delivering that creepy factor. What’s more, I enjoyed some of the audio editing/mixing and the music picked for some scenes.
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The story behind the Sewol is extremely complex. It’s not just a case of one person negligence - it’s a story that involves individual workers, coastal guards, press, police, politicians - you name it, more or less everyone was involved.
So does this documentary tell us how it happened? Why it happened? Does it provide any concrete explanations? No. But it paints a horrifying picture - when people on the site were too scared to even talk about what was going on. It focused on just a small portion of the events - the use of a diving bell, and how the government was doing its best to not make it successful. Exposing that lie in such detail, with interviews and video/recordings proof is how you break the well crafted picture the government and press created.
The movie shows how much effort was put into creating and upholding a lie and shifting the blame on others, when half of that effort would probably be enough to save the people trapped in the sunken ship.
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Disastrous codependency that limits everyone involved.
Yet somehow, it’s both just as bad, and not as bad as it sounds. Perfect case of a relationship unintentionally turning toxic, when everyone involved thinks they have good intentions.Double is a perfect character study, with so many various meanings to all interactions, that leave the final interpretation of the events and characters’ motivations to the viewer. Depending on what you will focus on, which scenes and moments will seem more important, what actions done by the characters feel more genuine, you might see quite a different tale than other people watching. And that’s the beauty of the show.
Personally, I see it as an artistic presentation of obsession - be it over art or a person, and countless human flaws and weaknesses.
When I think of Yujin, I think about egocentrism and this may seem like a counterintuitive view at first. He is introduced as someone who was willing to sacrifice a lot for Takara to succeed, but were his intentions as pure as it might seem? There is no clear cut answer to this question, but with each episode, watching him interact with Takara made me feel more and more uncomfortable. He had quite a duality about how he carried himself and interacted with Takara that made it hard to understand his character from the get go.
On the other hand we have Takara - a guy that was completely not capable of taking care of himself, and I truly mean what I say. The phrase that quite well describes him is “lack of self” - be it in the roles he portrays, decisions he makes, relationships he forms - everything is dependent on external influences.
He got hyperfixated on things and saw acting as his only goal in life. At the same time, for the longest time I could not truly pinpoint what exactly he wanted to achieve. Technically he verbalizes his wishes, but often they do not quite fit the reality and the action he would have to take to achieve them. He might seem like the victim of the situation, but what this drama is not, is simple - so there is more to his character and how he maneuvers his daily life.
Sounds like a lot? Looks like these are some complex characters? This ain’t even a fraction of what the drama presents. Honestly speaking, it’s best to go into it knowing as little as possible - not getting influenced by other people’s analysis and thoughts. Making it your own unique experience.
Complex characters and relationships are not the only aspect this drama delivers on an impossible high standard - the directing and editing were top notch as well. I am amazed how beautiful Double is. It truly feels like every scene was a deliberate choice and not one frame was left in by an accident or to simply fill the screen time.
Prolonged close ups to the actors’ faces, giving this eerie feeling, accompanied by simple yet dramatic in tone soundtrack? True perfection. The variety of different angles? Beautiful. The use of light and shadows? Could not ask for more. It’s just a perfectly crafted picture.
Onto the performances, both main actors did a phenomenal job, but I did prefer Nagayama Kento’s casting here. He embodied the gentle, caring yet strangely intimidating and unsettling character. On the other hand, while I do not have even a fraction of complaints about Chiba Yudai’s acting, it was simply hard for me to believe he was able to grab people’s attention… doing nothing, standing, walking. When he was not performing, he gave more of a lost puppy vibe, not this charismatic actor who might change the cinema. And yet, this is what they tried to tell me - that people just saw it in him.
Overall, what an uncanny watch it was. Each and every episode left me with so many thoughts to be organized, so many moments I had to analyze. One could easily write a whole book trying to decipher all the characters. More of my thoughts about them in the comment below.
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The plot lost between the simping, stalking and the sea of angst.
This drama makes me confused. Logically, I don’t even think it’s that good. Sure, some characters are interesting, some have great arcs, but the overall plot was barely developed and it’s mostly the female lead bouncing between the three and half male leads (I’m sorry Feng Long, but I forgot you were even a legit option and actually part of the main cast).That said, it’s ridiculously addicting and entertaining. I saw all the flaws, but I could not stop watching. I feel like it’s one of the dramas with well written characters and basic, underdeveloped plot. Xiao Yao had barely anything going on for her in terms of the story, but just her personality and her interactions with other characters were enough for me to adore her. Xiyan Cang Xuan's fight for the throne seemed more like a first draft than a proper strategy, and yet I love him and the internal struggle, suppressed emotions and the conflicts he had to face were amazing. Xiang Liu had some of the best character developments in the whole show, slow, well paced, realistic. He did not become an angel, the core of the character never changed, but with each and every scene we’ve got to see all the layers of personalities he had.
While I disliked Tushan Jing a lot, even his character was written in a proper way, I just don’t vibe with him. That said, the struggle between his own desires and the newly found responsibilities was well presented.
Another aspect deserving some appreciation was the variety of female characters. More straightforward and tomboyish Xiao Yao, who is truly daring and loyal. Nian who went from annoying brat, to sweet sister (whom I also adored by the end of the show - biggest surprise for me), Fangfeng Yi Ying with her cunning nature and desperate actions, calculative, but also honest Chenrong Xin Yue. Truth to be told, I appreciated all the female characters, and at times I wished the drama would focus on them more.
What’s more to love? The visuals. Not me taking over 1000 screenshots. The costumes were beautiful, the scenery breathtaking, set designs amazing. Visually speaking, there was nothing to hate and a lot to love.
The acting was great. The only performance I struggle to judge is Deng Wei as Tushan Jing - I disliked the character so much, I am not going to act like a clown and pretend like I can be objective here. That said, the whole cast MASTERED the suppressed angst - everyone delivered in that area and these scenes were truly the highlight of the whole drama for me.
Overall, extremely enjoyable watch, even if by the end I felt like there was barely any plot. I wanted to see more detail in Xiyan Cang Xuan journey. I also wished to see more of Nian, since she became one of my favorite characters. I disliked how unbalanced all the relationships were, as someone who prefers partnership, the simping and pinning, and sacrificing at times was too much - rolling eyes was inevitable.
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Why add plot when you clearly do not want to have a plot?
Nor do you need the plot to be perfectly honest. I am genuinely confused about what happened and what this drama wanted to be. It claims to be a fantasy rom-com, but it feels like a cooking slice of life. It sets the plot as this epic love story that defies time with political schemes in the background… but delivers a cooking slice of life. So why not just… be a cooking slice of life and not cosplay as something else?The whole drama is a sandwich. Episode 1-3 and 10-12 have a plot, episodes 4-9 have cooking and close to no plot. Anyone willing to explain to me how I am supposed to care about all the events happening at the end, when they were never developed and existed only in my memory from the first few episodes? I’m honestly annoyed, because I actually love the slice of life genre, and I love historical rom-coms with fun set up and some political schemes. But I was expecting a plot, and got disappointed when I did not get it. And since I was not expecting a slice of life cooking comedy, I kept waiting for the plot to happen, and ended up not quite enjoying it either.
This could have been just a slice of life cooking comedy - 8 episodes, remove Kang Mok Ju and Prince Je San from the story completely since they were useless. Also remove the whole backstory of the king's mother - useless. Serious political schemes? Useless. Male lead being tyrant for like 2 hours of the screentime? Useless. Basically, remove the crumbs of the plot we’ve got, and I will love it.
The cooking? Amazing. The bond between the cooks? Awesome and fun to watch. Making meals more than just food, but rather an emotional experience that connects people and makes them remember their happy memories? Beautiful. The visuals - breathtaking. I even enjoyed the romance, which was mild and cute, a nice backdrop to the cooking itself. And if the drama was that, and only that, it would be an easy 8.5 out of 10.
Then we have the issue of the casting. Acting wise everyone did a good job, but it’s obvious Lee Chae Min was to some extent miscast. I know it was a last minute decision, and he aced the role itself. But when you put him in the context of the other actors, his presence makes no sense - he is simply too young. All the main characters are supposed to be more or less of a similar age, and so are the actors. And then we have this 2000s baby. I want to be clear that I do think he did a great job acting wise though.
As for the romance - outside of the set up it was great. Loved the fluff, loved the initial banter. I loved the growing trust and actually decent communication. In the context of the set up? Flat. I don’t know, I’m just confused and want to ask the writer: why? I liked their relationship, I do think they like each other. Did I feel love? No. Ji Yeong felt mildly interested. I did not feel that deep bond that can change the trajectory of the future, that would make their souls crushed if they end up separated. It gave me more - you are my type, let’s see where it will lead us.
Production wise - beautiful. I was in awe with all the cooking scenes, still giggling when I remember the editing of the reactions when characters were testing female lead’s dishes.
Overall, I would be fine with no plot, just good vibes and cooking, if they did not set up an actual plot that also seems interesting and would have exciting conflicts. But now I’m just confused about what was the goal and what the writer and director wanted to deliver with this project.
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So charming it bends the laws of optics and common sense.
Sometimes you don’t need logic, you need fluff and tension. You need the greatest dynamic of a cute unpopular boy and a possessive popular boy. The purest form of rom-com that is all about the characters and their relationship, but has none of the brain cells and care for reality. And the lead characters with good dynamics they delivered.Hioki Asahi was adorable and I don’t get where the idea of not fitting in with hot guys comes from. The most popular group of friends in school usually also had that cute one to add sweet to the spice. Luckily it was not really the focus of the drama, but it did add to some internal conflicts. On the bright side I loved how they did not make Hioki feminine. That's the typical pattern we see in dramas - the hot one is masculine, and they make the cute one act like a little girl. Here Hioki was your typical teenage boy. Was he shy and adorable? Yes. But he was not “anime teenage girl who actually is styled like a middle school girl” shy and adorable. A good example were his interests - he wan't into baking, or floral arrangements, he was into sports. That I appreciate a lot.
Watarai Tsukasa was for sure far more cliche, but I ate it all with no care. This is how you write a jealous male lead - you actually make them jealous and create scenarios where they can get jealous. It’s that simple, and yet most dramas miss the mark. This man had a vision and a long term plan. Yes, the plan was not only fueled by his endless edging the confession and being a tease, but also a tiny bit of awkwardness and fear. His whole existence could be summed up as: how far can I go without spelling out my feelings?
For the romance - thank you. They knew exactly what they were doing. They utilized the unsure unpopular and the possessive popular dynamics to the max. Looks, subtle touches, less subtle touches, amazing hugs, not a dead fish kiss. We had a reasonable amount of hesitation and miscommunication/lack of communication that just matches the age of the characters, but is not exaggerated to the point of pure frustration. I think that’s the charm of the drama - it was well balanced. Just when the lack of communication could start being annoying, they talked. Just when I’m starting to get bothered how we only get one point of view, they drop the other. Just when the tension is about to plateau, they break it and kick it to a higher level.
The rest of the "F4" gang? Let’s just say I died a little bit with them complaining about their pretty privilege and how people just love them for no reason. What a 1st word problem they had. Literally zero depth, zero nuance. And that’s actually good. Just a bunch of pretty boys having fun and being pretty while not distracting me from the main romance. It worked.
What didn’t work was the early 2000s portrayal of girls. Not literally every girl in the drama existing either to be annoying so it validates the unjustifiable distaste the guys had for girls, or to be a source of jealousy. I don’t need any depth from them, keep them as shallow as Watarai’s sidekicks, but make them fun, nice, and act normal.
The production was actually surprisingly great. Some scenes were straight up beautiful. I always enjoy the shows that convey emotions, meanings, desires, hopes, hesitations by other means than just close ups to the leads' faces, and we've got some nice variety here. I also really liked the use of light and how it gave certain scenes a really soft and dream-like feeling that was enhanced by the perfect amount of slow motion highlighting the beauty, the tension, without slowing down the momentum.
Acting was good with a small * in terms of Fujimoto Kodai - loved it all, but that one crying scene when he truly used all his facial muscles to squeeze these tears. Unless the actor is actually able to have the waterfall come out of their eyes, you do not need the complete break down moment - you can have the same emotional impact with more subtle portrayal. That said, that was just one scene I was not convinced by the acting, all the rest I enjoyed a lot. Be it from the main cast or the supporting one - the intense stare that Kan Hideyoshi delivered, the playfulness of Fujimoto Kodai, dynamics that felt like real friendships.
Time for some complaining:
There are dramas that are unintentionally illogical in some aspects, and there are dramas that intentionally drop the logic out of the window, because they had an idea for a cute scene. School Trip wins first place for bending the logic to curate fluff and I’m not even mad about it.
Okay I am a bit mad, but I got easily distracted by how cute the leads were. But even the power of adorable Hioki and jealous Watarai could not stop me from ranting about the idiocy that was the presentation of being short-sighted. Excuse me, but you do not become borderline disabled when you take your glasses off. Hell, someone who would have their eyes covered would probably function better than Hioki. Or how he literally put glasses on when he still had in one eye lens on. Or how he basically acted as if he had glass in his eye, because one of the lenses fell off.
More illogical things that became hilarious: getting drunk on 1/10th of a sip of alcohol. Or how Hioki literally could not eat any meal without getting it all over his face. Or how we had 8 teenage boys and they thought one small pizza for them makes sense.
Overall, this drama proves that as long as you are charming and do what you set out to do well, you can get away with truly a solid amount of silly and borderline stupid ideas.
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Since the disaster happened relatively fast, I didn't have enough time to get to know the characters. They all were just nameless random people to me. I didn't care about the mains more than any other background person running away. Will they die? Will they survive? Who knows? But also, who cares?
The political aspects just frustrated me to the bone. Since various terms and procedures had to be explained to the viewers via narration, everyone making the important decisions about the disaster looked incompetent - everything had to be explained. The president was spineless until the plot decided it was time for him to act the role. The same "miraculous change" happened to the main hero, who was first to try to leave and then out of a blue first one to try to save others. The "development" of the characters just happened in between scenes, and there was no nice and logical progression.
The acting from the main cast was good, but some of the supporting actors could tone down the over dramatic acting a bit.
Overall, a nice movie to play as a background as you do other daily activities. Far too long for what it presents and offers.
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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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When stupidity is scarier than the vicious virus.
Not gonna lie, at some point I kind of wanted the drama to end with the end of the world. Watching all these characters behave the way they did make me think: maybe the world would be better without people in it.That said, what a ride this show was. Not one episode was boring with all the zombies, scheming and danger. Adding great chemistry between the cast made this drama a pure joy. Sure, I wanted the majority of the characters dead by the end, but how much fun was it to watch the chaos unfold.
Happiness has this uncanny, surreal vibe to it - no one reacts to any given situation in a realistic manner, the society deals with it in the most chill way possible, there is little to no information about what the government is doing with the guy working for pharmaceutical company (given he is associated with military)making all the important choices that involve worldwide survival. Nothing about this show is realistic, little to nothing truly makes sense and yet… I liked it a lot.
Production value was top notch. Sure, they overdone the “zombies'' with funny eyes, but at the end of the day, the infected were not supposed to be the scariest part of the show anyway. For me, they were adorable and had many comedic moments. Face covered in blood, but they will be like: I’m fine.
Isaac Hong’s Pain was probably the best song of the whole OST. Listening to the soundtrack while writing the review, it hits me how dramatic it is compared to the drama itself.
The show sends a vaguely clear message - happiness is not defined by where and how, but with whom. It’s the people in your life that can make it or break it. That said, with all the awful characters in the drama, I rather stay alone and not risk it…
Overall, I started to feel far more frustration in the 2nd half, since some of the choices the characters were making (including our main duo into that mix) just made no sense and showed complete lack of planning and ignorance towards the obvious dangers, both in the form of the virus and the residents themselves. The last episode was a bit disappointing, not delivering a conclusion the show deserves. Even with all that, I would highly recommend it. The entertainment value was so high, I will gladly turn a blind eye to the things that bothered me.
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Amazing buildup with blurry conclusion.
I did not have such a level of mind-f**k in a long time. Half way through the show I stopped making any theories, because it was just impossible to predict and evaluate anything. The only thing I knew was - anything can happen.The events present in the show happen in 4 different timelines, and like puzzle pieces put together, slowly showcase the whole picture. Sadly, along the way some pieces have been lost, and the answers were not fully delivered, leaving me with my own interpretations and theories.
The story follows quite a number of characters, with their own back stories and plot lines, that are all connected in a convoluted way. The moment you might think you start to see the whole picture, they do 180 on you, and you are back to the beginning - confused and frustrated.
Without the doubt Uhm Tae Goo was the star of the show. Jo Kyung Ho was such a glooming and enigmatic presence throughout the drama, I could do nothing, but get intrigued and drawn to him. The calmness, confidence and the assured tone with which he delivered the lines made it that much more terrifying.
On the other side of the events we had Choi Hyung In - emotional and driven detective, and Jo Jung Hyun, who failed to run away from her fast and was forced to face it. With each episode we see the paths of the three characters getting closer, leading to an inevitable clash.
From my perspective, the show tells the story of the different ways people deal with trauma, grief, anger and fear. Some give up, some fight till the end, some run away and some dive into a revenge fueled path. Hometown presents how turning a blind eye to suffering can lead to more pain and more victims. Facing your past, working through the pain, accepting the responsibility, regretting the mistakes and working to fix them, even if it seems too late to take any actions - it’s worth living even if we suffer.
The acting from the main cast was a top level of awesomeness. I felt sad and defeated thanks to Yoo Jae Myung, confused and trapped thanks to Han Ye Ri’s performance, and uncomfortable with, but enchanted by Kyung Ho’s character, thanks to Uhm Tae Goo’s skills.
Some of the teens' performances were questionable - the characters did not feel quite real and the emotions did not reach me. Luckily, it only happened during a few scenes, and overall, all of them did a fairly good job.
The production quality could not be better. The mix of horror elements perfectly elevated the thrills, blurring the lines between the reality and creations of one's mind. For a show that is not mainly a horror, it delivers the tense atmosphere in a skillful way, giving the viewers goosebumps during a number of scenes.
Are there any complaints? Yes.
Set up that is not explained well. Till the end, even after the credit rolls on the screen, you won’t get all the answers of “how” and “why”. If we limit the story to what’s possible in reality - this makes little sense. Me and many other viewers voiced how the presence of supernatural elements could elevate the show to a new level, explaining some plotlines and character’s choices and skills.
By the end of the last episode, I was still confused about what exactly started the whole plot - what made Jo Kyung Ho what he was, why he did what he did, when he started and what exactly was his desired outcome. I have my theories, but the point is - I don’t think the show did enough in explaining what drives the villain - they fail to explain his motives properly.
Confusion surrounding some plotlines, especially circumstances around Im Se Yoon and the timeline of her death. The last two episodes confused the heck out of me. I tried to sum up all the information I’ve got since episode one, but it just does not work in my brain. I might have missed something, they might have made it far more convoluted than needed, or it might be both.
Overall, it was an extremely intense ride. The journey was so entertaining, even with the disappointing conclusion, I can’t help, but love the show. Hometown ends with a question mark rather than a full stop, but for me, sometimes it’s better to not give the answers than give the ones that are not satisfying.
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It was a simple story, simple romance and a simple watch.
Sang Yi helped In Soo hold onto his dream, In Soo helped Sang Yi step out of his comfort zone, and it was all done in a quite subtle way. We never get to actually meet the big bad guy, and his presence is introduced later on, but didn't really have that much impact on the story. Or rather, it had a huge impact, but it didn't feel like it.It's a sweet story about two boys that fall in love with each other (and each other's music). There is a vague background about going against other people's expectations and chasing your dreams no matter what, but in only 80 minutes, the plot is not explored enough to have an actual emotional impact.
The acting was nice? Overall Lee Sang did a better job than In Soo, but none of the actors convinced me during their "sad" scenes. The emotions just weren't translating onto the screen well.
The production value was quite good. The shots had a nice indie vibe to them and the music was definitely one of the strongest points. That said, for a show that centers around music production, the audio quality in the beginning episodes was questionable...
It was an easy watch that never really got me excited, but I wasn't bored either. Watching it won't be a waste of time, but skipping it would not be much of a loss either. It is what it is: a short cute BL romance with a simple plot and pretty leads.
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