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  • Last Online: 10 days ago
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
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  • Birthday: September 23
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  • Join Date: May 4, 2021
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the_sapio_nerd

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

the_sapio_nerd

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Completed
If You Wish Upon Me
46 people found this review helpful
Sep 29, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 11
Overall 5.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Blame the makers and move on.

I think at this point we’ve watched more than enough slice-of-life dramas to be passing just anything as a good watch. With humanism and hospice affairs, this drama attempted to attract viewers with melting vibes, but unfortunately the shoddy story and deficient characters made it fail very sub-standardly. In overall, this wasn’t even average, rather a bad drama. I was more excited for Sung Dong Il than Ji Chang Wook, but it worked for neither.

Produced by ‘A&E Networks Korea’ & ‘Climax Studios’, “If You Wish Upon Me (당신이 소원을 말하면)” is a feel-good drama, enmarking Ji Chang Wook’s come back to cable drama following his military service. Written by Jo Ryung Soo and directed by Kim Yong Wan, the drama was originally broadcasted on KBS while Viu was assigned for international distribution. The production claims that the story has been inspired by the true accounts of “Make-a-Wish Foundation” in Netherlands, which is somewhat correct.

The story follows a young ex-convict with dark past, Yoon Gyu Re (Ji Chang Wook) who is ordered to join a hospice for community service upon a minor offence. Even with hesitations and doubts, he soon joins ‘Team Genie’- a group that fulfills the last wishes of terminally ill patients at the hospice, created by Kang Tae Shik (Sung Dong Il). Seo Yoon Joo (Choi Soo Young) is a nurse and the only medical personnel in the team while it also consists of Yeom Soon Ja (Yang Hee Kyung), a cook, Yoo Seo Jin (Jeon Chae Eun), a high-schooler, Mr. Koo (Park Jung Pyo) a social worker and Choi Deok Ja (Gil Hye Yeon) & Hwang Cha Young (Yoo Soon Woong) an old couple who work as cleaners at the hospice.

Other familiar faces in the drama are: Shin Joo Hwan, Won Ji An, Nam Tae Hoon, Park Se Jun, Park Jin Joo and Nam Kyung Joo.

Plot development is an absolute disappointment. What started with a little bloom, became weary by the interval and dreadful and illogical in final sequence. The seemingly peak scenes did exhibit no emotion, nor raised hopes for further development.

Given the storyline, the script could have been a very good one even without any peculiar feature, but the debutant writer failed through rough despite their firm motivational muse. I think its natural provided they made a debut with the drama and hopefully this helps them as a writer, but there several things that could have been avoided easily, which seemed like a lack of motive. The introduction was okay but it soon became ineffectual even before it could finish a quarter. The characters were poorly written and had no development throughout, the plot development was inconsistent and tawdry and the elements were underwhelmingly typical.

Directorial input is visibly way under the par; not just they could better the script, also the things that had to have only their contribution was very tacky. The editing and screenplay did irk me as soon as the show started rolling, however, I was expecting it would improve. I honestly lost interest before two episodes because of this choppy execution but decided to continue wishing for warm moments. Albeit, the limitations of the drama are that even the events that are supposed to make you cry, rather invite boredom. There is little significance of cinematography and the screenplay organization is a huge mess.

Composed by Kim Dong Wook, there are 9 OSTs in the drama. Most of them are indeed beautiful, touching and are perfect for the genre of the drama, though underutilized in the editing.
# “Loner” by Kim Sung Kyu (Infinite)
# “Starlight” by Jung So Yeon (Laboum)
# “I Can’t Forget You” by Kim Feel
# “Young Day” by Lee Ye Jun
# “Halo” by Park Jin Joo
# “I’ll Protect You” by Choi Yu Ree
# “Let U Go” by Suran
# ‘’To My Star” by Choi Soo Young
# “You and Me” by Taeyeon

No, this is not the first time, a flawed male lead with dark past and in requirement of therapy has been projected in a Kdrama. In fact, such characters have been brought forward more recently by beautiful female writers of the industry, who have been able to create impressions. Any of you citing Gyeo Re as ‘too weak to be a man’ probably either has toxic masculinity or are into ‘all heroic alpha males’ too much. But what was the problrm? Poor context and subpar presentation and not to forget, zero transition in between. I would have liked to see a slow and steady development in him, from rags to flower, but he changes from an evil to sage in a blink of moment and remains the same throughout. Such a waste of his acting skills plus the potential development.

I think romance was a factor that stood out the most amongst all. Not only the chemistry between Gyeo Rye and Yeon Joo was wonderful, also the development of love and their follow-up till the end was beautifully drawn. It was not typical at the least and the healthy relationship goals reflected through their beautiful presence was cute and heart-touching. Well, most of the credited to Soo Young’s expertise in that area but Chang Wook playing an untypical arc did help it too.

There are a lot of unnecessary sequential flashbacks for several characters which might have been a good idea for a drama where a lot of people are breathing for the last time, but ngl it could have been better executed. So, their random incorporation and editing with OSTs rather felt underwhelming.

Side characters were a part of the journey and definitely contributed some of the warm factors but they hardly had much to offer as individuals and whatever they had, lacked plausibility and any interest. I was particularly anticipating for the team members bcs they have been favourite actors and the initial episodes made me expect a little. However, realizing that the writer doesn’t intend to improve themselves, I gave up very soon.

Another thing that I loved was Won Ji An's character as Joon Kyung, portraying mental health issues and how they take cumulative toll on body along with their way of affecting the surrounding people, be it family, friends and acquaintances. The actress did deliver amazingly, 0.5 for her only.


The thriller subplot to the script was such a havoc, I could not help but hate it too much. Not like the drama had any overall potential to begin with but the way kept ruining it and destroyed the remining essence towards the end using bad guy fight and conspiracies within the hospice. The 14th and 15th were total letdowns because the repetitive and fast-paced fists and knifes were only funny and laughable. The past connection part between the leads did not make sense either. Ending of it was not really terrible but I was in no mood to think about it by that.

Final Remarks… The drama was an act of trumpery (flashy but unproductive). Keeping JCW, SDI and CSY at the centre, it did aim for big but in overall, the makers did have a lack of creativity and motive to do better which led to a wasted and forgettable watch. They did attempt to incorporate touchy stories and blooming moments to make it seem appealing and heart-wrenching but they rather felt forced and out of place. The drama failed through for a lot of reasons and is a technical flop. Not recommending to anyone.

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Completed
From Now On, Showtime!
32 people found this review helpful
Jun 12, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 13
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

Isn’t very magical X(

Created by ‘Viu’ and produced by ‘Samhwa Networks’, “From Now On, Showtime!” is fantasy plus romcom Kdrama which bases on horror comedy. Written by Ha Yoon Ah and jointly directed by Lee Hyung Min and Jung Sang Hee, the drama was originally broadcasted on MBC.

Cha Cha Woong (Park Hae Jin) is a handsome and popular magician who has been able to create a name for himself in the industry with the spectacular magic tricks he does. But little do the public knows about his secrets about being helped by a group of employed ghosts in performing. Upon meeting Ko Seul Hae (Jin Ki Joo), a passionate police officer, he joins the civil police unit to gain some attention but soon they fall in love. Together they try to solve a 10 years old case that involved their family members and meanwhile discovers stories of their past lives that connected them for eternity.

Choi Geum (Jung Joon Ho), Nam Sang Gun (Jung Suk Yong), Ma Dong Chul (Go Gyu Pil) and Kang Ah Reum (Park Seo Yeon) are the employees of the magic factory. Lee Yong Ryul (Kim Hee Jae) is a junior cop and Chun Ye Ji (Jang Ha Eun) is a young shaman. Other familiar actors in various supporting roles are Kim Won Hae, Lee Dong Ha, Cha Mi Kyung, Kim Jong Hoon, Ahn Chang Hwan, Jung Jae Sung and Yang Joo Ho. There are also other known faces in guest roles.

Plot development wasn’t steady though it remains constant for quite a while. Pilot episode wasn’t impressive at all and the furtherance from there didn’t improve at all. Many elements and technical aspects bugged me from the very beginning and there seemed no effort to rectify them on the maker’s part. So, I did struggle for a long time to digest whatever was happening. As a story, it wasn’t really going forward in the same acceleration, because from character introduction to establishing the base of the story, everything made sense. From 3rd, I had already decided to watch at 1.5x, but unexpectedly, I started to like the way things were turning up, midway from the 5th episode, which made me bring back the speed to normal. Honestly, it kept growing on me and I almost fell for it because of smooth and consistent growth, which which which, lasted only till the 11th episode. Introduction of typical Seora-era past life connection trope and painting it with a lousy and funny plotline, is what again ruined the show. The execution of it wasn’t really bad but then the way the current story was plotted it made the entire thing shoddy. The show becomes dragged and exaggerated a lot from 12th episode, albeit its not entirely unbearable. The finale was too rushed. The ending sequence was quite not impressive at all and the "last episode break-up followed by rushed patch-up" trope was so unnecessary, lmao. The stupidest fanatsy was the retrogressive time travel by Hae Jin.

Han Yoo Ah jakkanim had hit the spot with her debuting script “Mystic Pop-up Bar”, which wasn’t really great but had lived up to expectations and was qualitatively acknowledged. However, this show, as her 2nd work failed to keep up in the graph of consistency. I agree the low budget and poor promotion took a toll on the outcomes, but judging from the story, execution and everything else, this isn’t really worth of high results, so whatever hype it has received, it has earned it well. The plot development is average, the character arcs are unexceptional with ordinary growth curves and the elements were randomly choosen; adding to it, the 2000 yo choppy plotline.

Lee Hyung Min PDnim, who’s been working over 2 decades have created many hits and popular dramas and have also seen some of his works getting flopped. While I can’t say it’s one of his worst works, it wasn’t really anything memorable or even a decent piece, given the fact that half of it couldn’t even reach the average expectations. In FACT, It’s the direction that made the drama worse, which is very unlikely and idk what exactly went wrong. The camera work wasn’t very good and to add to the pile was the job of screen and sound editing, which was of substandard quality. The frequent face close-ups and unsuitable sound incorporation was the biggest offs.

There are 7 OSTs in total and I like 3 of them and don’t like the others. They are: “FALLIN’” by Kim Hee Jae, “DANDELION” by Zitten and “YOU YOU YOU” by Floody. The other 4 are “FREAK SHOW” by Jeon So Yeon (I like its instrumental though), “I’LL BE THERE” by An Da Eun, “TIME” by paulkyte and “EHERADIYA” by Bae Gi Sung.

What I liked…

# The way of utilizing shamanism as a tool and incorporating magic in was interesting the idea couldn’t be properly executed and presented; simply, it fell short.

# Park Hae Jin always aces the comedy roles in Kdramas and is essentially one of the best when it comes to playing a comic male lead character. Such was the case here; he simply was wonderful as Cha Cha Woong, though the name is unattractive. His real sense of humor did really reflected in his comic scenes.

# The ghosts working together during the magic showcase scenes were extremely funny. Similarly, their way of helping the leads in various face-offs or dire situations was wisely sketched. They were actually cute.

# The General’s obsession for the idol Aris was very funny and the scenes involving that were entertaining though it lasted very short.

# The casting of an actual trot star Kim Hee Jae as debutant and having scenes where he sings a trot song was very delightful for me as a fan of K-trot music.

What I didn’t like…

# Except for the concept, there is not really anything fresh. I wasn’t gonna complain about it but the fact that they forgot their own theme, turning the show into something else, made it an absolute mess. So, this is just another ghost-relieving drama with intertwined past.

# The comedy is bland for most of the parts, as the editing doesn’t contribute to the overall humor. Also, the pacing of individual scenes are inconsistent, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, though the plot progression speed is okay.

# The romance line started earlier than expected and then turned into cringey fillers which is something I hate a lot in Kdramas. It wasn’t maturely handled.

# The 2000yo old mystery plot wasn’t required in the first place, but they couldn’t even write or execute it well. This is more of personal preference, and I believe that without it, the drama could have been smoothly wrapped up within 12 episodes, or even 10.

# It seemed like the writer themselves was confused about what the direction of the story should be; for first few episodes it was only supernatural, then it turned into only romance and then to only comedy, finally tuning into some history shit and then fantasy.

Final Remarks… I won’t really recommend the drama to anyone, not even who watches everything. For me, it was below the level you call decent. I would have rated it lower if not for the things that I really liked and thought would be foolish not taking into consideration. While Park Hae Jin and the comedy elements remaina source of inspiration to watch this, all other things aren’t that noteworthy. I have loved the FL and her acting the past but she didn’t seem to be able adjust to the role even so her performance was good. Overally, the drama is moderately average, nevertheless entertaining to a limited extent. If you have time and patience, then go ahead.

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Completed
Doctor Lawyer
14 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 2.0

Nice blend though!?

Wasn’t really excited for the drama bcs of the title which clearly indicated a blended profession and I’m honestly bored of it due to the recent developments even though Ji Sub is one of my faves. I started it regardless, expecting something decent out of it, which it is to to some extent but with no eye-catching development and with typical element, I found myself struggling post the interval yet somehow managed to finish, with no overall feeling.

Developed by Kim Ho-jun and produced by Celltrion Entertainment & Mongjakso, Doctor Lawyer (닥터 로이어) is a medico-legal thriller drama, marking So Ji Sub’s comeback to the screen. Written by Jang Hong-cheo and directed by Lee Yong-seok, the drama was originally broadcasted on MBC TV and internationally distributed by Disney+.

The drama keeps at centre, Han Yi Han (So Ji Sub), a lawyer who was a doctor 5 years back and lost his license following a major malpractice, which he think was a conspiracy to oust him from the hospital. With the intention to bring those matter to surface, he starts working from the root by legally assisting other medical malpractice cases in the courtroom. Joins him Prosecutor Geum Seok Young (Im Soo Hyang) who lost her brother in the same case and is eager to do anything in order to reveal the truth.

Jyaden Lee (Shin Sung Rok) is a master lobbyist and investor at an American company Honor Hands and Im Yoo Na (Lee Joo Bin) is the youngest director in Banseok Foundation. Lee Kyung Young (Goo Jin Ki) is the Director of Banseokwon Hospital and his son Lee Dong Ha (Goo Hyung Sung) is a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Other familiar faces in major roles are: Choi Jae Young, Choi Deok Moon, Kang Kyung Hoon, Nam Myung Ryul, Park Joon Hyuk, Jo Hyun Shik and Kim Ho Jung.

Plot development is moderately fine, not good or not bad, simply mediocre. The pilot episode and its furtherance in the next were not appealing to me; the premise and the background didn’t excite, ngl. But I was still expecting it to get better, and admittedly, it did to some extent, however, it continued to feel bland. Okay but I was also intrigued by Jayden Lee’s appearance in the show and whenever he came to the screen, I was excited; he’s a fabulous actor anyways.
The first short-term and the following elaborate legal battle were both executed well but after that it felt dragged and they were only blabbering inside the courtroom. There are multiple cardio OT scenes and the cases didn’t feel any exaggerated though the surgeries were not jaw-dropping or something. The mystery part was good for me, despite being more than a lil suspenseful it did keep up the questions for a quite a time (my rough assumption proved right though). The show became boring for the last 6 episodes and there was nothing left for to look forward to but I managed to finish with 1.5x. Honestly, I got no hard feelings about the ending or the overall quality of the show.

I don’t know much about Jang Hong Chul jakka-nim except for the fact that his previous and first work was an underrated gem though its 3 years old now. I think the writer took a fair span of time to to create this calculative and thoughtful piece with a new kinda blend but the theme and core concept of the story could have been better utilized, in terms of both screenwriting and representation. I would have loved to see the motivating muse of Yi Han that made him a lawyer or the process itself, even so as a flashback narration, if not an episode long showcase.

I have watched only one drama by Lee Young Seok PDnim which happens to be his previous work and it was good but despite of the genre difference, if I compare them, this one was lacking in many aspects. The direction is not particularly to blame but the team could have attempted a positive compromise with the writer. The editing and set up were all fine, nothing eye-catching, except for few revelations and on-the-edge moments.

So Ji Sub’s acting was as amazing as always but this drama couldn’t make it upto his skills. Han Yi Yan was definitely an idealistic man with miraculous capabilities though he also seeked help from others but to tell that Jisub justified the role would be like underestimating his skills. Regardless, I hope he gets back to the track soon.
Im Soo Hyang why? Why doesn’t she get good offers these days? Despite her features in not so extraordinary dramas in old times, in my eyes she had been acing her powerful characters. And now, she picks up these lousy and poorly written female characters who only act like the side kick for the ML or a script that itself is a disaster.
Shin Sung Rok’S entry had me in awe bcs I had almost forgotten about his presence in the drama. Him as Jayden won hearts which was clear from the response he got but I personally think the character and his skills could have been better utilized and had some more exposure.
Lee Joo bin also went beyond what was expected of her; firstly I didn’t think she’ll be of any importance but then I was wrong and she also put good efforts in carrying out what she was offered. I am honestly impressed.
Goo Jin ki is definitely one of the best antagonist of recent times which he was able to present again through the drama but for someone who has been closely following him, the character didn’t feel any new to me, it’s the same as few of his recent dramas and so I wasn’t paying any particular attention towards him.

There are a total of 4 OSTs
# “Freedom” by Lee Chang Sub (BtoB)
# “An Unfamiliar Day” by Chen (EXO)
# “Fight On” by Yoo Hwe Seung (N. Flying)
# “My Shadow” by Yi Ra On

Final Remarks… Well, that was a barely decent watch and as it reflects in my review throughout, again, I have no hard feelings about this one and would not really think of ot when someone asks me for recommendations. You can watch If you are a Jisub oppa admirer or are looking for something light.

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Completed
Ghost Doctor
27 people found this review helpful
Feb 22, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

Kdrama coma ghost ft. Medical.

"Ghost Doctor" is a typical fantasy Kdrama with a coma ghost, i. e. The soul of a person wandering around while they're in deep sleep bcs of coma. The story revolves around unveiling the mystery behind their situation, accompanied by numerous other subplots involving many characters. So what's new? All these happen in the premise of a hospital and. Now go back to and read my title again; makes sense?

Produced by Bon Factory & Studio Dragon, created by Plan Production and broadcasted on tvN, "Ghost Doctor" is written and directed by acclaimed and experienced drama makers: Kim Eun Hee & Bo Sung Chul, respectively. With a great production value and star-studded cast, the drama couldn't create any impression but it could be counted as a simple no-brainer watch, if you have plenty of time in your pocket.

Cha Min Young (Rain) is an excellent Cardio-thoracic surgeon at Eun Sang Medical Center who's excellent at his job yet selfish, narcissist, self-centered and arrogant. He chooses his patients himself and performs near impossible surgeries. and Ko Seung Tak (Kim Bum) is a genius student who despite of not being interested in studying for medicines, has to go to a med school on his family's directions. However, he loses confidence in OT and mostly runs away from his duties. Dr. Cha is a Professor in CS Dept. whereas Dr. Ko is a first year resident in the same. One day, Young Min runs into an accident ending up in coma, following which his wandering ghost possesses Seung Tak during critical surgeries.

Jang Se Jin (Uee) is a Neurosurgeon working abroad who is visiting Korea for personal reasons and has to work at the hospital for a while. Oh Soo Jung (Son Na Eun) is an intern in the ER. Tess (Sung Dong Il) is a long wandering ghost in the hospital Jang Min Ho (Lee Tae Sung) is Se Jin's brother. Han Seung Won (Tae In Ho) is the Dep. Director of the hospital and Ban Tae Sik (Park Chul Min) is the CS Chief.

The delivery from this main and supporting characters were decent tho their characters and the dynamics were not deserving of their acting skills (I truly mean this). In fact, Uee and Son Na Eun who were supposed to be main characters didn't get enough screen share, the latter being ignored the most. I was excited bcs of Uee's comeback but such a waste of talent. Also, I have come seen Na Eun evolving through dramas and have come to like her, so the fact that she's been completely disregarded was a turn off for me.

Plot development is very average and not upto what was expected out of it. The first 2 episodes and were surely fascinating bcs of the cast, performance and too much of rush scenes definitely burst the adrenaline, which in fact, lasted for further few days episodes but I guess that was it. With the progress in the story, so many truths were unfolding abd that could have been engaging and entertaining, if only I the content were not rushed in a couple of 'go"-es. Simply, everything was revealed so easily and so soon, it wasn't interesting any longer. Then, they ran out of contexts and contents bcs all that was left is to give a colosure but the desperation to fill the 16 episode quota grabbed so tight, the makers ended up with forcing a romance plot into the story.

Okay, it was obvious from the beginning that there will be 2 couples and thus, 2 romance lines so what went wrong? Exaggeration, over-stretching and dragging a single thing to the end. I am okay with whatever amount of an element (even romance) is offered to me, but the story solely relying on it just to keep up with the broadcasting, after forgetting the initial as well as central motive, annoys me to the core. The conspiracy plot as a qualitative entertaining interest, had nothing much to offer, so that makes me doubt whether the story had any potential to begin with. The ending sequence wasn't likable at all and after losing interest from 10th episode, I honestly fast-forwarded the rest at 1.5x and finished it since I can't drop anything.

Bo Sung Chul PD-nim is the director of many popular and well received pieces over a decade and half, and frankly, few of them are close to my heart. But given his experience plus skills, this wasn't a match. Well, I believe, not everything one does has to be perfect; though as something meant for entertainment, it should at least have been
a decent watch. The pacing wasn't inconsistent but I wish the progression was faster. The screen editing didn't contribute any appropriate relevance to the story.

Na Eun Hee jakkanim is in fact one of my writers who has created many good scripts during 2000-10 but I somehow couldn't like this in overall. The trends, tastes and projections have changed and very few have been able to adapt abd sustain but it's visible how jakkanim's work's fades (even her previous work). The story as a whole doesn't really have the wow factor and adding to that, the premise couldn't achieve the newness she wanted to bring forward. The dialogues were average and development was inconsistent yet manageable. Some of the character arcs didn't impress at all and the others faded away with the episodes. Despite a number of drawbacks, I can't bring myself to utter that it was bad. In fact, it was an very average watch, that could be skipped too unless you wish to give it a try.

While I couldn't like the drama much, I must say I am in love with the set of OSTs. To my knowledge, there are a total off 4 songs only, which I think could have been more (bcs I crave more). Composed by Kim Jun Suk & Jung Se Rin, the tracks are fresh, lovely and emotional, ornamented with beautiful lyrics. "Fly Away" by Shinwoo (B1A4) is a desire of liberation and conceiving high ambitions. "All I have is my heart" is a romantically emotional and gladdening ode to love, and K. Will's vocals is like adding feather to the cap. "Romance" by Sondia is a soulful piece of reminiscences. TO1 members Dong Geon & Jae Yun have sung the track "You Better Not" which is a jolly and tantalizing song, perfectly fitting the bromance scenes.

What i liked...
# The Bromance between Kim Bum and Rain was the best thing about the drama.
# Despite a typically average plot, the performance and delivery was good.
# Slice of life elements portrayed through the ghosts and doctors plus nurses of the hospital was likable.
# Entertainment value was somewhat up to par; neither good nor bad.

What I didn't like...
# Illogical situations created during the emergency surgery scenes (iykwim).
# It was predictable for most of its parts.
# Forced romance was the biggest drawback, adding to the dragging.
# Less exposure to characters, especially the 2 female leads disappointed me.
# No effort from the writer to transform the plot and it's value.
# Poor execution despite scopes of improvement with the concept of coma ghost in a medical premise.

Final remarks... Overally, tvN "Ghost Doctor" is a decent yet not so good watch. Despite having a decent plotline and scopes for improvement, this show incorporated way more flaws than that can be ignored, and which could have been easily taken care of. I might recommend recommend it for eye candies as a fan of both Rain & Kim Bum, but qualitatively the, it was just okay and may be you should save your time for something else. But again, if you're already on it or wish to watch bcs of the cast, I don't see a problem, except that your schedule should be flexible enough to spend time on it.

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Completed
Hunted
12 people found this review helpful
Aug 23, 2022
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Very so-so...

Produced by ‘Ascendio’, "Hunted (멧돼지사냥: literally Boar-hunting)" is a mystery thriller mini webseries set up in a country village. Written by Jo Bum Ki and directed by Song Yeon Hwa the show was released on MBC.

To Prevent the agricultural damage in the village, the villagers along with the forest rangers decide to hunt down the boar but with that few people go missing and the mysteries of the people start getting unveiled, bringing forward harsh natures of human beings.

Young Soo and Chae Jung are married couples living with their son In Sung, known to be the poorest family while Ok Soon halmione lives in an isolated house with her grandson Hyun Min. In Sung and Hyun Min are childhood buddies.

Plot development is good, not extraordinary or something that you will have you on edge or very unpredictable but the way they lay the background and build the suspense around the core mystery, does intrigue and gives you chill. Its not particularly engaging but still enjoyable as a short watch.

The drama made by rookies did have its effect. I guess the run time being this short (4) helped them and despite being a drama that will no trace, the process would have been fruitful and a medium of learning for both of them. The development and suspense buildup were good though few factors went wary towards the ending. The sound and screen-editing were compelling enough to keep up the intrigue of audiences, I must admit.

The performance is worth the platinum, full of old and experienced actors like Park Ho San, Kim Soo Jin, Ye Soo Jung, Cha Si Won, Lee Ki Hoe, Yoo Soon Woong and Kwak Ja Hyung. The acting is the most giving outcome of the drama.

There is no particular flaw in the show either but the thing that bothered me were the elements in the ep3 which then led to obvious consequences in the finale but much can’t be said in order to avoid the spoilers since the show is already this short. But to express how I felt, all the suspicion buildups went down the drain as soon as things were revealed. I mean that’s one of the possibilities I had guessed as well but the very execution of it went awry which was a huge let down for me as I was kinda expecting big from it.

Portrayal of vicious human natures such as mistrust, jealousy, greed and evilness, was perhaps the intentions of the writer and I guess the delivery was moderately up to par but I would have liked better depth to characters and the Elaboration on how and where they were induced in each of them. The organization of the scenarios influencing the final revelations were somewhat lame and lousy, could have been better. Nevertheless, it wasn’t realistic or astounding as a fiction plotline.

Final Remarks… Admittedly, HUNTED is a short and intensively entertaining watch despite being short with no element that stood out. If you are into suspense thrillers and have enough time on your plate, it won’t hurt to try this approx. 4.5 hours thing. The content isn’t that sumptuous to be exactly critiqued in a positive or negative way, imo but all I can say it’s pretty average.

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